People watching

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People watching or crowd watching is a hobby of some people to watch those around them and their interactions. This differs from voyeurism in that it does not relate to sex or sexual gratification. This can be regimented or informal, to obtain personal information on social interactions or as a means for sociological/anthropological/psychological research. Naturalistic observation is another more formal way of describing people watching, based in a psychological perspective.

[edit] Ethics

There is discussion within the psychological community if it is ethical to watch groups/individuals without express informed consent as signed consent forms are required for most other social science experiments and observations.

[edit] Media interest

• An October 2006 article in The New York Times discusses the practice of people watching and the importance of such to understand the city [1].
• A series of "Overheard in..." websites have popped up showing the act of people watching all over the world, for example [2].
• The British television comedy Watching is related to people watching.