Ever wondered why awkward moments are... well, awkward? There are countless of awkward moments, but why do we feel awkward? I mean, none of us likes awkwardness, it feels weird and uncomfortable, but what is awkwardness? Is it needed?
Well, to be real, feeling awkward means we understand social rules. Of course, too much of something good is bad, and vise versa. I mean, if you're being too awkward, well... it's simply awkward to be around that person, and if you're just being ignorant, people see you as rude. Yes, the society has a lot of demands.
Based on a study, if a person has the right 'amount' of awkwardness, society see them as kind, trustworthy, and honest. Most would probably say that 'awkward' is a feeling that you simply feel, unlike 'physical pain', but based on a research, the part our brain react the same way in both awkward moments and "fight or flight" conditions. Which probably explains why we act so scared when we feel awkward.
It might be really hard of us to forget those awkward moments, yes.. we know that feeling, and some people blame this on oxytocin, a.k.a, the love hormone.

This hormone is known to make you feel happy and blissful, but on the other side, it also gives you fear and anxiety. You might think, if we feel happy, how is it possible to feel fear too? (Yep, you didn't see this coming did you?)
A journal of the American Psychological Association (Taken from here), Emotion, shows that too much oxytocin can lead to oversensitivity towards others' emotions. Participants were given doses of oxytocin, and different facial expressions show their personal emotional state.
"For some, typical situations like dinner parties or job interviews can be a source of major social anxiety," says Cardoso, the study's lead author. "Many psychologists initially thought that oxytocin could be an easy fix in overcoming these worries. Our study proves that the hormone ramps up innate social reasoning skills, resulting in an emotional oversensitivity that can be detrimental in those who don't have any serious social deficiencies."
As Cardoso explains, "If your potential boss grimaces because she's uncomfortable in her chair and you think she's reacting negatively to what you're saying, or if the guy you're talking to at a party smiles to be friendly and you think he's coming on to you, it can lead you to overreact -- and that can be a real problem. That's why we're cautioning against giving oxytocin to people who don't really need it."
This leads you to think that you ARE the main character of the world. Obviously, no one actually cares about what you've done. Not meant what it means, but let's just say that there's a reason to why "There's always two sides to every story" quote existed. Of course, we all care ourselves more than others. I mean, when you're at a line and someone took WAY TOO LONG to order, you would see them as annoying, but when YOU are the one taking way too long to order, you assume that the employees were unhelpful or you chatted too much with them. This leads to the person behind you thinking that you are annoying, but do you care? Yes, and that's why you care way too much what others think of you, which is why you feel awkward.
Conclusively saying, YOU are not the center of everyone's mind, because others themselves have thing the matter more than you, but that doesn't mean you should be an ignorant douche bag. Like what the study from Emotion, we just put too much "care" on others who don't really need it.
So how do you see awkward as?
For references, CLICK HERE (A video) and HERE (The study about Oxytocin)
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