I hate it when people do that.

Tell them to f**k off.

i enjoy that...but can you explain why it bothers you so much?
i hate when someone tells me to smile. i'm an adult and can decide for myself when to smile. i wonder if a person who smiles all the time would respond pos or neg to a person telling them to stop smiling so much. kinda similar.

right. i wonder how a person can think they know better than i when i should be smiling and when i should not.

i agree with this. i am not obligated to smile, regardless if it makes me "prettier" or not. I smile when i feel good and not to look good. it gets old really fast and for most the is just annoying, but there are those few times its just super uncomfortable.

i am this first sentiment. as if that person is in my head at that time and can feel what i'm feeling or read what i'm thinking. and, i can find something delighful and not smile on the outside. i'm not frowning...i'm just enjoying the moment when someone tells me to smile, as though my reaction was not good enough for them. just grating. i responded to someone else, it would be like telling a person who smiles all of the time that they smile too much...or asking them why they are smiling when they are perfectly content smiling.

as for russians...i can understand that. haven't we all encountered those people who are just always happy...and wanted to slap them a little? or at least questioned the authenticity of their outward emotional display? i worry about those people, myself. i wonder what kind of pain they are trying to bury.

as for smiling when you meet someone...what else would a person do? having said that, it can be missinterpreted by a jealous partner as flirting, depending on the accompanying body language. i find it difficult to look an attractive women in the eyes, as this would so obviously pronounce my attraction. not that it would be a bad thing for a woman to know that i find her attractive, but...well, it's complicated. being jealous when your partner smiles when meeting someone is crazy. and who said flirting was a bad thing anyway. i guess it likely depends on the level of trust in the relationship.

ps. so sorry about your hard time.

SUPER annoyed by this. let me be me.

i wonder about what motivates a person to tell another to smile. i could be in a perfectly happy mood and perhaps look...lost in thought. a person, however, who is capable of reading more than just a smile would recognize the eyes, the brow, the body language which would tell them that i am in a good mood...that i'm happy. just because i don't smile like an idiot all day long does not mean that i'm not happy.

yes, eat when not hungry...to make them feel more comfortable somehow? very similar concept.

nothing wrong with being a smiler. how would you feel if someone told you to stop smiling? not in a nasty way, just...in passing, said "stop smiling?" i know, it's not the same. it's hard to find the perfect comparison. airen wolf said, like someone who will "urge me to eat when i'm not hungry."

word.

right. no matter what the reason, there is a reason...and someone telling you to smile when you are not smiling for a reason, that's just annoying.

people have no idea what is going on in another's head...and that is a great reason not to tell them how they should be feeling. and, maybe that's the bottom line. don't tell me how i'm supposed to be feeling. even if i'm not in a bad mood or sad over the loss of someone, it's still not okay to tell me how i should be responding in any situation. you feel what you feel and i'll feel what i feel...and we can both express ourselves in a natural way.

i liked that commment, "it's not my job to be pretty for you or smile for you." as though you are there to fullfill that person's expectations of you. i think i'm getting closer to why it's so annoying. this is good.

you have plenty of company there. i smirk as well. in fact, i'm pretty sure i scowl.

because it's presumptions of them to tell you how you should be feeling, right? i'm getting closer to why it bothers me.

if it's a spouse, they are more likely to be able to get away with it. they do tend to know you better than any other...and so, can tell when it might be helpful if said.

lots of smirks. i should have put that as a choice on a poll.

makes me feel several things all at once. and none of them are good.

they would probably think you were deep and interesting. or perhaps nuts. i'd stick with whatever reaction is natural when meeting someone. if it makes another jealous, well, that's on them.

53 votes so far...and none of them are for "uplifting." that should say something to those who tell others to smile. even if it's not taken negatively, it's very likely not taken as a good thing.

i'm starting to understand why people get annoyed...and why i, myself, get annoyed by it. it's something about being told how we should be feeling, when we are fully capable of deciding that for ourselves.