--- description: In America, it's common for people to avoid strangers--out of fear, discomfort, annoyance or all of the above. But in her new book, When Strangers... title: Review: When Strangers Meet by Kio Stark image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Books](/tag/books/) ## Books Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # The Upside of Talking to Strangers by [Sarah Begley](/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 15, 2016 10:32 AM CUT by [Sarah Begley](/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 15, 2016 10:32 AM CUT In America, it’s common for people to avoid strangers–out of fear, discomfort, annoyance or all of the above. But in her new book, When Strangers Meet, Kio Stark argues that random encounters can be surprisingly beneficial. Specifically: the kinds that occur when you strike up a casual conversation with someone in an elevator or ask for directions on the street (though it’s important to respect the boundaries of people who clearly don’t want to talk). It can be extremely rewarding–and even intimate–to talk to someone without encountering the kinds of preconceived notions that come with friends and spouses. Moreover, studies show that repeated exposure to and connection with people outside our bubble can make us more accepting of difference. That’s good for society in general, Stark writes, because it leads “us away from fear and … toward openness, cooperation and genuine understanding.” –SARAH BEGLEY ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4494785/the-upside-of-talking-to-strangers/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4494785/the-upside-of-talking-to-strangers/"},"headline":"The Upside of Talking to Strangers","datePublished":"2016-09-15T10:32:05.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T00:37:00.867Z","description":"In America, it's common for people to avoid strangers--out of fear, discomfort, annoyance or all of the above. But in her new book, When Strangers...","url":"https://time.com/4494785/the-upside-of-talking-to-strangers/","keywords":["Books"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sarah Begley","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/books/","name":"Books"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4494785/the-upside-of-talking-to-strangers/","name":"The Upside of Talking to Strangers"}}]}] ```