Automated avoidance

[Alan tm]

In this advancing world I use any option I can to avoid people.
Cash points , McDonald's self serve panels ,self check out at the super markets.
On line banking , card payment at petrol pumps
If there is an option where I don't have to interact I'll take it .
Who else reacts this way

 

[Gritches]

The McDonald's near me just got a self-serve panel and I am sooooooo happy. I also use the self check-outs, bonus that there's usually no line for them for whatever reason.

Here's something fun that's sort of in keeping with the idea: I don't have a card to use at the pump these days. My [former] bank went ahead and took that away. So, I'm cash-only, meaning I have to talk to the cashier no matter what. What I've started doing is making sure I have exact change, so I can just walk in, say "$20 on pump 5", hand them a $20 bill, and bid them good day. No awkwardly standing there while they make change, no signature needed, just in-and-out in less than 30 seconds. My point is, I reduce/avoid interaction as much as possible even though I'm forced to pay cash.

 

[MrSpock]

"Forced to pay cash". There's something very wrong about that phrase to me, no offence meant. Orwell has made me choose to pay cash (or barter) whenever possible, I find myself 'forced' to pay directly through my bank for internet, phone and rent at the moment. Using cash rather than cards to pay for things is a very simple and basic thing we all ought to be willing to do to protect our privacy and freedom IMHO.

Aside from that I can appreciate that it may be beneficial to use automated things rather than have to deal with people on a difficult day. On a not so difficult day it seems to me that such interactions are relatively inconsequential socially speaking and rather lightweight. If acquiring skills or callouses were a goal at all these things might be looked at as an opportunity with little risk involved.

Am a wee bit OCD. I would be trying to put exactly $20 ($50, whatever) in the tank regardless of interaction with people, even when using a card and change is not a factor whatsoever. That's probably a bit silly.

 

[Cactus]

I try and avoid social interaction when possible.

What I dread is having to go somewhere I've never been. I'm at my worst when I'm not familiar with the situation. I experience a lot of anxiety from such minor considerations as where to park, and what door to enter. Many times it has been too much for me. When that happens I go home and isolate myself. NTs don't even think about this stuff. Some days I feel like I have to climb a mountain.

 

[OkRad]

In this advancing world I use any option I can to avoid people.
Cash points , McDonald's self serve panels ,self check out at the super markets.
On line banking , card payment at petrol pumps
If there is an option where I don't have to interact I'll take it .
Who else reacts this way

I have learned to disassociate (Or rather it is a skill that came to my brain when it was traumatized). This may not be a good thing to do, but neither is eating chips. I find it a sanity saver. I tap into my special interest and zone out and then other people are not there. I do this because I am afraid of being judged. It is not because I don't like people. If i am having a good day and can smile and be friendly, I don't do it. It's when I have to be somewhere and feeling ill or out of sorts. It is only a problem when someone who meets me in that state to whom I have been previously friendly!! That does not go over well.

I have gone back and forth on "Is it better to always zone out and never be friendly or to risk being friendly knowing I have to zone out?"

I decided it's best to try to be friendly when I can. When I zone at the wrong times with the wrong people, yup, friends lost, but those who I don't lose are truly kind people and special people

 

[SusanLR]

I avoid contact with people out in public as much as possible.
It's a type of disassociation I would call it.
Like if I have to go shopping in a crowded store or to the mall, I'm aware of everyone so I don't
bump into someboday, but, I can also zone them out so I don't feel too much anxiety.
Same with driving. I am a very careful driver and have never had a ticket in my life, yet driving
creates a lot of anxiety especially in a crowded bumper to bumper city.
I just do the same thing. I concentrate on the music I play constantly while driving.
It blots out the road sounds and my own thoughts that might want to wander.
I'm hyper aware of the cars, the road signs, traffic lights, signals, etc. But, I ignore the
drivers inside the cars and kind of ignore the car itself.
Unless I see a special car that I find particularly attractive that turns my head!

 

[Progster]

Highly scripted transactions with a clear function, such as paying a supermarket cashier, or ordering a pizza, or buying a drink are not a problem for me. I prepare, go in, say hello, say what I want, say thank you, and leave. No small talk, it's a business transaction with a specific purpose, not a social transaction, I'm prepared for it, it's predictable and not an issue.

For me, the problem is when I bump into people who I know and they want to chat and I'm not expecting it, or I go to order something, and they've run out of the thing that I want to order. I don't deal well with "no", being told that I can't do or have something when I was expecting it. This causes me to want to aviod at all costs situations in which I might be told "no" and be disappointed.

I have problems similar to those described by @OkRad where I'm zoned out, someone I know unexpectedly comes up to talk to me and I don't make the transition to being smiley and friendly, answer in an monosyllabic and absent kind of way or don't respond at all, and people don't understand how I was friendly last week, and now suddenly I'm not. It's forced interaction imposed on me by the other person and feels to me like an unwanted intrusion. When I'm expecting it and it is my choice, it's ok, but not unexpected interaction.

 

[NothingToSeeHere]

Self service check outs and panels are the best thing since online shopping and banking, which in turn are the best things since sliced bread. My anxiety is far more managable when I don't have to interact with stranger for these sort of simple everyday tasks.

 

[Mary Anne]

I too avoid people, traffic, human congestion, interactions whenever possible (pretty difficult in the third largest USA city region though). If I go anywhere, I take the lesser traveled roads, and shop at the least busy times. Even in nature, the hiking trails are too filled up with chattering humans, and children making loud noises. The constant irritation of cars rumbling by on expressway highways, or jets roaring overhead going to and from the US busiest airport, is 24/7 noise. The beaches are best to visit only in winter. The light pollution is also one huge irritation.

 

[On the Inside]

I actually enjoy the trivial social interaction of dealing with cashiers, librarians, clerks, etc. Many days they are the only social interaction outside of my family. And no one talks much at work.

Short, focussed interaction with yhe occasional surprise joke or observation, then out the door.

 

[owlet]

I tend to avoid it by either using self-service/online options or by going out with my sister, as she enjoys talking to people so I don't feel worried about accidentally being short or unfriendly with a cashier (and having worked as one when I was younger, it would be devastating if I made them feel bad, even by mistake).
When I was younger and had terrible anxiety about talking with unfamiliar people, I wouldn't be able to buy anything if there was no self-service/online option, or if I was out on my own, but these days I can - I just get anxious about it, so try to avoid it.

 

[DCA]

I don't know if I specifically go out of my way to avoid people, but like others I do zone out & go into my own little internal world often when I'm out, such as at a supermarket, & keep my interactions very transactional. In fact I prefer to go by myself, but I have kids & have to drag them along. Sometimes I get irritated at them when I'm trying to focus, but I think that's normal for most parents... But going into my own internal world has been my self defense mechanism for decades. That & completely shutting down if I'm stressed.

 

[Ezra]

It's interesting how the world is becoming more autistic friendly through things like texting and self service. And also ordering groceries and such online and having it delivered.

 

[Judge]

Brief and incidental contact with store checkers are primarily the main contact I have with other humans.

For me they are sort of a form of "practice" socially. Otherwise living in relative isolation other than being online I'd have virtually no contact with anyone beyond with infrequent calls from my cousin and brother.

Within the last few months I've observed retailers stepping up the inclusion of automated checkout stations and deliberately reducing the number of human cashiers. Sad to think of so many lost jobs that used to pay reasonably. Though I have to admit, using the automated checkout stations is quite fast and efficient. And they seem to employ reasonable security measures to curb anyone attempting to tamper with card-reading devices.

Funny to think of such technology some 30 years ago like the ticket devices in BART stations in Northern California. Where half the time you feed paper bills into the system it would just spit them out. Clearly they've come a long way since then. Much less hassle now.

I suppose it really doesn't matter in my case. Just fewer humans to interact with, for better or worse.

 

[Alan tm]

I used to do the " invent a stronger self" and push that version out
Into the world

 

[I love roses]

In this advancing world I use any option I can to avoid people.
Cash points , McDonald's self serve panels ,self check out at the super markets.
On line banking , card payment at petrol pumps
If there is an option where I don't have to interact I'll take it .
Who else reacts this way

I hate self check because I freak out when they screw up and the helper is no where to be found or goofing off. I need to know how to tune things out or zone out. I get too bent out of shape. I do fine talking to strangers at checkouts. It is awkward socials where you are expected to behave certain ways or dress a certain way, all this social expectations scares me. I can talk to a stranger i know i’ll never see again all day long about nothing!

 

[On the Inside]

Automated checkouts are very stressful to me. Even if there are few people, i feel rushed and i dont feel I'll ever get proficient at the process. I much prefer going through the cashier, they have the responsibility to keep things moving along.

I guess i have less of a problem with short term social interaction than I do with process. I am generally slow at doing things, and can easily get flustered to the point of leaving a situation if I cant deal with it.

Even if I get to the point of feeling proficient at some process, i know i am slower than average.

 

[Sherlock77]

Not that I ever go to McDonald's, but I dislike the new touch screen thing they have done... When I go to the supermarket, I almost always use a cashier, rarely using self checkout... And I dislike how I have to pre-purchase gas for my car at the gas pump... One place I buy gas from is a small gas station, almost always the same person working there, he still lets me fill up without pre-paying (against the law here now), plus I like going inside to pay because they have awesome sausage sticks for sale, from an independent company...

You get the idea, to me even a brief interaction at the counter of a store is an interaction I value, since at times I live a fairly isolated life... Don't ask me about what I think about Amazon, you don't want to go there...

Cash you said? Yup! I try to only purchase more expensive items with credit or debit, if I'm paying $2 for a coffee I use cash... One coffee shop I go to sometimes, used to automatically push the card machine forward on the counter, meantime I would always give them cash, real money!

 

[I love roses]

You get the idea, to me even a brief interaction at the counter of a store is an interaction I value, since at times I live a fairly isolated life... Don't ask me about what I think about Amazon, you don't want to go there...

Oh yes. That is an all out social! But i have to not over do or I will get that, I’ll be glad when you move on look”. Most of the time though I don’t overload them. But if I haven’t been out in a while....

 

[Progster]

Automated checkouts are very stressful to me. Even if there are few people, i feel rushed and i dont feel I'll ever get proficient at the process. I much prefer going through the cashier, they have the responsibility to keep things moving along.

I guess i have less of a problem with short term social interaction than I do with process. I am generally slow at doing things, and can easily get flustered to the point of leaving a situation if I cant deal with it.

Even if I get to the point of feeling proficient at some process, i know i am slower than average.

Same here. Where I live there are no automated checkouts (yet) and I wouldn't have a clue how to use them. Plus a queue of impatient customers behind me making me feel under pressure and flustered. Also, I've heard some of the beeping they make when assistance is required, and it's very off-putting.