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How the Finnish survive without small talk

bbc.com

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Re: How the Finnish survive without small talk

#41

Post by bluetomcat »

Mediterraneo10 wrote: post #25

It is strange that this article sees Finland as an odd man out in terms of customer-service interactions, and it suggests the USA or the UK is the norm. I have lived in both southern Europe (where people are claimed to be more extrovert) and in Finland, and generally interacting with a "barista" or cashier in both places is exactly the same, consisting of only the words "Hello" and "Thanks". In the USA one might get…

Customer-service interactions as they are in the US are not popular and are considered obtrusive even in more extrovert cultures such as southern and eastern Europe. Small talk there generally takes place between colleagues and friends.

Re: How the Finnish survive without small talk

#42

Post by buboard »

dagw wrote: post #17
buboard wrote: post #8

[flagged]

leads to depression hence their sky high suicide rates. That's a myth. Finland's suicide rate is basically the same as that in the US, and Norway, Sweden and Denmark all have a significantly lower rates.

i mean compared to the poor european south

https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/documents/4187653/7825811/IMG+...

US is a huge country to compare as a whole

https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/suicide.shtml

Re: How the Finnish survive without small talk

#43

Post by Cthulhu_ »

illuminati1911 wrote: post #7

(I’m a Finn) I didn’t know what small talk was until I went to study abroad. Most of my foreign classmates often asked me things like ”how are you doing?” etc. and when I literally answered them what I had been up to recently they were very confused. ”Dude...no need to tell your life story, just say ’good’ and that’s it” I replied ”Why do you ask a question if you don’t care about the answer?” I learned the hard way,…

Same, not even finnish but when I'm in the UK and people go "Youright?" I'm like "uuuuuuuhhhhhh".

Re: How the Finnish survive without small talk

#44

Post by buboard »

anthk wrote: post #31
buboard wrote: post #8

[flagged]

Spain is not a single-mind culture, FFS. From the Rainy and cold North to the Sunny South and the inner -wastel^U field landscapes, there is a huge difference. You can't put in the same mindset a celtic Galician, a Basque marine/IT guy, a Catalan media artist and a Castille Historian. Stop dividing Europe in North/South, in the end there is more like a scaled rainbow even inside countries.

i don't know i can tell by the tone of your writing you re spanish

and i totally agree that people are not stereotypical, but that goes mostly for the very recent generations. The world is heading to monoculture fast, yet when people talk about cultures, they refer to culture that is mostly expressed by the dwinding majority(?) of middle-aged people.

Re: How the Finnish survive without small talk

#45

Post by blake_himself »

unwind wrote: post #10

Swedish has the same saying, but it's the other way around ("tala är silver men tiga är guld", literally "talking is silver but silence is gold"). It makes more sense like that to me, but perhaps the article just got it wrong

In English there's 'silence is golden', but, lacks the 'silver' part.

Re: How the Finnish survive without small talk

#46

Post by ed_balls »

unwind wrote: post #10

Swedish has the same saying, but it's the other way around ("tala är silver men tiga är guld", literally "talking is silver but silence is gold"). It makes more sense like that to me, but perhaps the article just got it wrong

It seems it exists p much everywhere in Europe, but I always understand it differently than the article implies. It's better to stay silent sometimes than to say something, because it can cause a conflict or hurt someone.

Re: How the Finnish survive without small talk

#47

Post by mseidl »

Mediterraneo10 wrote: post #25

It is strange that this article sees Finland as an odd man out in terms of customer-service interactions, and it suggests the USA or the UK is the norm. I have lived in both southern Europe (where people are claimed to be more extrovert) and in Finland, and generally interacting with a "barista" or cashier in both places is exactly the same, consisting of only the words "Hello" and "Thanks". In the USA one might get…

I'm a German that lived in the USA for a while, and now that I'm back, at first the customer service was pretty bad in Germany. But I like it now. It can be pretty bad where you might have to beg the sales guy to take your money, but not being bombarded by sales people or way too much bs talking. When I was back in the US, I rented a car, and I didn't really say anything much just answered her questions, I didn't solicit any small talk but she wouldn't shut up about her life. It's like "just give me the car!!!"

Re: How the Finnish survive without small talk

#48

Post by buboard »

jacquesm wrote: post #28
buboard wrote: post #8

[flagged]

I am not sure where I am going to start to help to sync up your worldview a bit but there are so many things wrong with this comment that an attempt will run a lot longer than the original. Your ideas on socialism seem to be confusing communism, socialism, the well-fare state and the social contract all at once. There is a lot of stereotyping in your comment (fair enough, there is too in the article), and you are jum…

they are anecdotal observations from my interactions with said people. i dont need help with my worldview, but thanks

Re: How the Finnish survive without small talk

#49

Post by buboard »

mtgx wrote: post #14
buboard wrote: post #8

[flagged]

Or maybe just a climate thing? I find I want to talk much less when my face is freezing. In the long term I imagine this could have easily turned into a habit/cultural thing. You also hear about Latin American people being much "warmer" and friendly, etc.

i find the british are pretty chatty, even when its freezing. Yes, warm weather -> people being outdoors -> eventually chat more (and don't do much work)

Re: How the Finnish survive without small talk

#50

Post by buboard »

salvar wrote: post #21
buboard wrote: post #8

[flagged]

Speaking from an Icelandic perspective, I think the 'love of socialism' stems from the fact that we've pretty much always needed to rely on one another to just survive in the harsh living conditions. Of course, these conditions have improved drastically since the early 20th century but I think a lot of the culture remains.

> needed to rely on one another

You would expect that to result in much more elaborate social rituals

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