what a weird way to look at people. i never even thought about people’s professions being useful to me. does no one look things up on the internet? if i need a handyman I’m gonna look for one, not hope I’ll eventually bump into one at a party.
Admit it. WE all do this
Submitted 1 day ago by Mickey7@lemmy.world to [deleted]
https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/1de039d6-67b4-4320-aee4-461898bf746c.png
Comments
pyre@lemmy.world 11 hours ago
HalfSalesman@lemmy.world 1 day ago
Its a flawed yet broadly applicable conversation starter that is statistically less depressing than talking about the weather (climate change) or politics these days.
There are better options, but its not typically about cynical “How useful are you?” probing unless its like a business coded social event.
blarghly@lemmy.world 1 day ago
I’m just asking because I know literally nothing about you and I’m not interesting enough to come up with an original question.
ArgumentativeMonotheist@lemmy.world 1 day ago
No, it’s just one of the usual questions people ask to allow people to introduce themselves. Unless I’m in terrible pain and in the middle of nowhere and you’re a doctor, what immediate use could I have of you? 🤷
meyotch@slrpnk.net 1 day ago
It’s just a US American thing. It is a question less frequently asked when traveling abroad. Many Europeans and South Americans have mentioned it to me over the years as a reliable way to ‘spot the American’.
Our culture is broken and we are widely considered to be gauche and rude by others in the world.
Vinstaal0@feddit.nl 11 hours ago
In The Netherlands this is pretry common as well, heck in even abroad I have been asked the question
lowspeedchase@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 day ago
I’m not lame so I won’t admit to anything. Anyone who asks me that (at a party) is an immediate red flag to me. “Hey we are all trying to unwind and have some fun, what could make that better? I KNOW! LET’S TALK ABOUT WORK!!!” ugh the worst people. Get me the fuck out of that party.
HalfSalesman@lemmy.world 1 day ago
On one hand, I get it. I don’t really want to talk about work either. But on the other hand I can’t entirely blame some people if they work a lot that might be something that’s been floating around in their head or they’re just curious.
lowspeedchase@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 day ago
Fight it. Don’t be lame. Don’t let the conversation turn to mush. Say something shocking, open up about an out-of-left field belief you hold. Remember what fun feels like. Discussing work is never fun.
UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 1 day ago
I was just asking for the small talk.
itsgroundhogdayagain@lemmy.ml 1 day ago
Or just asking to see if they’re more successful than you
HalfSalesman@lemmy.world 1 day ago
I feel like that’d be a reason to not ask. But I suppose it depends on the person.
Carmakazi@lemmy.world 1 day ago
Certain people really want to know where you are on the totem pole. I’ve definitely gotten some barely contained disdain at formal events when I’ve told people I haven’t gone to full university.
aeronmelon@lemmy.world 1 day ago
Been a while since I saw Savage Chickens!
OutlierBlue@lemmy.ca 1 day ago
This is all “networking” is. I refuse.
piefood@feddit.online 1 day ago
I've always tried to phrase it as "What do you do?", skipping the "for a living" part. That opens it up to more than just work. It could be "What do you do for a hobby?*", or "What do you do *for fun?*", or "What do you do *in your free time?", etc.
Sure, it's not the best conversation starter, but when I know nothing about someone, it's a good way to get the ball rolling.
LaunchesKayaks@lemmy.world 12 hours ago
Best answer for that is: suffer
Really makes a person stop and thing lmao
shalafi@lemmy.world 1 day ago
See my comment here:
old.lemmy.world/comment/18418113
Got ghosted every single time I asked what they did for fun.
piefood@feddit.online 21 hours ago
Huh, weird. I haven't dated in a looooong time, so I cant say if anything would be off about that.
ceenote@lemmy.world 1 day ago
More like: “I barely know you and that’s a question I can ask anyone to pad out a conversation.”
Donjuanme@lemmy.world 1 day ago
F.o.r.d.
And I don’t tend to start at f or d also d must be metaphorical unless you’re sleeping with them
(Family occupation recreation dreams is the acronym)
shalafi@lemmy.world 1 day ago
Did quite well with online dating but I never once got a reply after asking, “What do you do for fun?”
Did they think the question was coded? Any ladies can explain this? Still puzzled.