Stockholms Central. Folklivet på en offentlig plats

Abstract

The Central Railway Station in Stockholm. Folk Life in a Public Place This paper describes the interaction among people at Stockholm's Central Railway Station. With the aid of the summaries of interviews and situational description a picture is formed of the opportunities and problems that social interaction implies. Many mutual strangers must share the Central Station and utilize its various attributes: as a waiting room while in transit, a meeting place, a place of work, and an urban area for strolling. The encounters between strangers at the Central Station may be both simple and associated with various expectations. Some experience the strange people around them as a potential threat, while others regard the encounters with strangers as an opportunity to gain new experience. Various strategies help to limit and steer human interaction in the direction and extent which people regard as suitable or desirable. At the Central Station people most often try to limit that interaction to a minimum. By minimizing expressiveness and avoiding eye and body contact the individual demonstrates his/her attitude to unnecessary interaction with the strangers in his/her proximity. However, there are also situations when people are forced to communicate face-to-face in order to obtain information, avoid misunderstanding, or to express one's understanding of a situation. In addition to the short-term strategies for action to meet the immediate situation, people also use long-range strategies which express their own personalities. The desire to be accepted for what one purports to be and to have his understanding of the interaction accepted forms the substance of social interaction at the Central Station. (Translation: Marie Clark Nelson)