The world of the train commuter

When I was young I barely ever took the train, let alone on a regular basis. Since starting a new job this has now become part of my everyday routine. I have quickly come to realise that it is a bizarre world, the world of the commuter. A world in which there are so many people rushing to get from A to B yet very little interaction between one person and the next. It makes for an unnerving experience.

Looking around the station and on the train, a good ninety percent of people have their heads down either in a magazine or are using some technological device of some kind.

I'm glad my journey is only a couple of stops because it is rather oppressing. I'm not the most social person in the world but it strikes me the way everyone is their own little island. Usually whenever there is a large gathering of people one large group is made up of lots of little social groups as opposed to individuals. However in this weird state of transition between destinations people are alone, in unknown neutral territory.

A wider issue that may be a contributory factor to this inhuman atmosphere is that within modern society it is less socially acceptable to bother someone else (in my eyes). Contributory factors could include news bulletins constantly telling us of all the evil people out there, the Internet and technology replacing face to face communication or maybe it is because UK has become much more diverse in the number of languages that are spoken.

Is there something that could be done about this lack of interactivity? I can't see anything happening, the layout of train seats (around here anyway) aren't exactly anti-social nor are the coffee bars spread around train stations. I would like to think that meaningful conversation between strangers is a common occurrence, however I can't remember the last time I spent more than two minutes speaking to someone who I did not arrange to meet with.