Have you ever noticed that when getting into an elevator, people tend to move to the corners? I know that most of us like our personal space, but chances are if there are only two people in the elevator, they will be as far apart as possible. There certainly cannot be any physical contact without glares and worries about communicable diseases. Are we so far removed from others that the thought of the slightest contact gives us the heebie-jeebies? I understand that no one wants to be crowded, plowed into, or touched inappropriately, but making sure that there is a zone of space around you in a small metal box seems a bit absurd. I have gotten on elevators where there was plenty of room for more people and have another person look inside and shake his or her head. "I'll wait for the next one," is what the person usually says, if the person says anything at all.
As for the people in the elevator car, there is rarely a word spoken other than a floor number. Most folks either look at the wall, look down at the floor, or more commonly these days, look at their phone. It seems almost an unwritten rule that conversation has to be kept to a minimum in elevators. I'm not sure why that is but parents hush children, forced smiles replace greetings, and lively conversation rarely happens. My questions are, "What makes elevators so anti-social? Why do people act like members of a leper colony as soon as they step onto an elevator? Why do elevators exert such a strong influence on us?" I don't mean for these questions to be rhetorical, either. I am truly curious about why these metal boxes work the way they do on the human psyche.