Why is it so common to be cold / unfriendly / antisocial in the UK?

Details:

Normal friends don't meet without planned arranged weeks in advance like it's a doctor's appointment

Neighbours almost never socialise

People are your best friends only when they're drunk. when they're not, they don't know you

People find it hard to greet other people on the street, whether they know them or not. They prefer avoiding the conversation.

They watch and learn about each other via a ridiculous amount of reality shows that "teach" you how to eat, live, manage your finance and what to buy

In many cases, they're nice around you but would talk behind you

Close minded when it comes to other cultures.

P.S: I'm not generalising, I'm not saying it's everybody, I'm not saying it's only the British, I'm just saying, whether this is British behavior or not, it's pretty common here..

ANSWER: We're not cold/ unfriendly. I think there are two problems here:

1. You live somewhere rubbish and are over-generalising about it. I'd be interested to know where it is (I live about 40 mins from London so it's possibly not far from me too).
2. You don't understand the difference between active politeness, and passive politeness. It's a failure to recognise the cultural distinctness of the UK from the US.

Countries like the US and for instance, Spain, practice "active politeness". It's considered polite to say hello to people around you and acknowledge them. To actively try to be helpful and friendly. Nothing wrong with that whatsoever.

Countries like the UK and for example, Japan, practice "passive politeness". We consider it polite to give people space, not demand their attention/ engagement, and if they want something - let them come to us in their own time. Politeness is about consideration for others without interfering with what they're doing. Nothing wrong with that either.

As for this...

"Close minded when it comes to other cultures."

This couldn't be further from the truth. People here are extremely well travelled, the country is very diverse, food and culture is diverse and open. You need to back up such an audacious statement if you expect it to be taken seriously.

It's also... frankly... rather ironic, given the context.


Source: QUORA