Experiment Socially awkwardcels, did you grow up without easy access to a mirror?

[ControlledInsanity]

I grew up in a household where the only mirror I had access to was small and mounted very high. I basically couldn't see myself until young adulthood and even then it was just the shoulders up. I am only now beginning to understand the damage this may have done to my (lack of) self awareness. Meanwhile, Stacy gets a full body wall mirror in her own room from day one, courtesy of the parents. This has got to impact social development; the way you move, the way you speak, the expressions you make. Any other mentalcels want to chime in?

 

[Mickeyonacid]

Any other mentalcels want to chime in?

You forgot the excessive use of quotation marks around """""mentalcels"""""

 

[Gyros_Pretcel]

Yes, we had only one small mirror in the bath and the light there was bad.

It kinda made me unaware of my looks etc..

 

[ControlledInsanity]

Gyros did you find later in life that proper access to a mirror has had any corrective effect? Too little too late?

 

[WarriorSkull]

Fun theory, but you can't really rationalize backwards like this because baises make it near impossible for you to formulate a proper theory without sufficient checks and balances on your own biases.

Hell, the foundation of your argument is that a lack of self-awareness is a root or primary cause of awkwardness, but it is arguable that awkwardness is a result of over self-monitoring. In attempting to become conscious of your unconscious behaviors, people often become stilted and unnatural because they're distracted from their environment and anxious over how they appear to others. I guess in your favor would be those with mental problems that prevent them from being aware of not only their own behavior, but of the negative perceptions of it by other people.

 

[ICanOnlyFapToBDSM]

no there were plenty of mirrors. sometimes i would talk to myself in the mirror when i was bored. I still do, lmao. One time my dad was pissed off at me and told me to go "talk to yourself in the mirror" like i was some psychotic freak

mentalcels do exist though. I know women want nothing to do with me and most women are way out of my league but i still get incredibly nervous around them. if i was some goodlooking chad it wouldnt make any difference, aside from the fact that chaddom and social anxiety arent usually comorbid

 

[ControlledInsanity]

Fun theory, but you can't really rationalize backwards like this because baises make it near impossible for you to formulate a proper theory without sufficient checks and balances on your own biases.

Hell, the foundation of your argument is that a lack of self-awareness is a root or primary cause of awkwardness, but it is arguable that awkwardness is a result of over self-monitoring. In attempting to become conscious of your unconscious behaviors, people often become stilted and unnatural because they're distracted from their environment and anxious over how they appear to others. I guess in your favor would be those with mental problems that prevent them from being aware of not only their own behavior, but of the negative perceptions of it by other people.

I get that this makes terrible science although the thought only occurred to me as I feel I've become much more aware of my appearance and how I conduct myself since getting better access to my own reflection. I have "undone some of the damage" but is this just placebo? Or natural maturation with age? I don't know what I'm looking for here tbh

 

[WarriorSkull]

I get that this makes terrible science although the thought only occurred to me as I feel I've become much more aware of my appearance and how I conduct myself since getting better access to my own reflection. I have "undone some of the damage" but is this just placebo? Or natural maturation with age? I don't know what I'm looking for here tbh

It is interesting and I can't completely discount it. Hitler famously practiced giving speeches in front of a mirror and he is pretty much the best to have ever done it. If I were to guess, it is the practice more than the presence of a mirror itself. You mentioned stacies getting access to mirrors early in life, but don't discount the effect of what they do with those mirrors. If they spent as much time grooming even without mirrors, as difficult as it may be, they would still be better looking and more socially conscious than not. Though it is hard to say whether the presence of mirrors would effect the likely hood of you doing more self-reflective practice? I feel like I had access to mirrors, but grew to avoid them as my self-consciousness over my looks increased.