Holy crap, according the the NY Times hugging is a teen phenonenom. When and why did this happen? I really hate hugging, and try to avoid it at all costs. I mention this fact to others, but then get suckered into hugging anyway so I don't seem like a jerk. I think a large part is the boob smooshing. Good thing I am not in high school these days...“If somebody were to not hug someone, to never hug anybody, people might be just a little wary of them and think they are weird or peculiar..."This reminded me of my own personal high school trauma, kissing on the cheek. For some reason, at some point during high school, everyone started kissing each other on the cheek. Now I come from a foreign family who kisses on both cheeks as a greeting and goodbye, so cheek kissing has never bothered me. I would have to kiss people who were my "cousins" on the first meeting. However, kissing on the cheek became obligatory among all my friends and for some reason this made me feel weird. I have gotten used to it now, and just go for it, but for a while there I would try to avoid it. What it boils down to is I am fine with kissing an 80-year old "cousin" with a hairy mole who likely eats whole garlic cloves and a shot of grappa for breakfast, but at one point in my life a 16-yr old girl or boy would freak me out. I'm just glad it was kissing and not hugging, I don't think I could have lasted with the hugging in high school. It just seems like it would take half your day and people could feel your fat.
Via The Awl
