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Los Angeles is known for a few notables: Hollywood, world-renowned theme parks, and lovely year-round weather. But apparently, the City of Angels has also become famous for the most interesting eavesdropped conversations.

The latter is thanks to the Overheard LA Instagram page. With 1.6 million followers and counting, the account features random chitchats people snooped on and shared online for the world to see.

As you scroll through, you’ll read discussions about suppressing calorie intake, sneaking out on a horrible first date, and regrettable tattoo decisions – all of which best encapsulate what “Lalaland” is all about.

People generally perceive eavesdropping as an intrusion of one’s privacy. It’s something you’ll likely never teach a young child to do at a tender age. However, experts see some benefits to it. 

According to psychology professor and TedX speaker Dr. Allison Jane Martingano, eavesdroppers are excellent listeners who can identify emotions just by looking at a person’s eyes.

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Dr. Martingano spoke about the Theory of Mind (TOM), which refers to our ability to understand the desires, beliefs, and emotions of others. An experiment she conducted revealed that eavesdroppers may develop better TOM skills because of their innate ability to identify emotions. 

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Eavesdropping appears to be a natural human trait. In 2007, researchers from the University of Washington discovered that 18-month-old babies engage in “emotional eavesdropping.” 

As their brains develop, toddlers learn to listen to and observe emotional reactions from adults. The emotional information they’ve collected shapes their behavior and personality.

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Gabriele Alfredo Pini
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3 days ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

In my town there was a big scandal because a school educator was found on OF. The big question was: who discovered her?

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Of course, eavesdropping can be used for ill intentions, such as hacking or illegal wiretapping. But does it carry negative consequences? Language science professor John Locke says no. 

As he explained in an interview with Quartz, people learn social cues by observing public behavior, even if they accidentally listen to other people’s conversations.

We’d also like to hear from you, readers. Have you ever found yourself in Los Angeles overhearing a juicy conversation between people (or with themselves)? Share them in the comments!

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Joshua David
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3 days ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

As a gay man, I've had plenty of these conversations with women. They aren't exempt from saying ignorant and offensive things.

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PrettyJoyBird
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3 days ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Geez. Mine was no cold cut meats, no sushi, only tylenol, limit caffeine, oh here is gestational diabetes and a thyroid disorder for life as a bonus! I adore my children so please dont come at me. The list is actually WAYyyyylonger and yet i would happily go thru it all over. Love them unconditionally, would die for them.

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Mike F
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2 days ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I remember working in a garage ~1974, and the older mechanics (WWII vets) HATED us. I heard "youth is wasted on the young" at least once per week per mechanic. Another was "buy your books and send you to school, what did you do, chew the covers?" It was not a pleasant experience, we couldn't walk away from the situation. When I got my chance to get into a factory, I JUMPED.

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Dragon mama
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3 days ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I learned this as a tick to help remember names when I meet people. (repeat name out load and make an association) Has never worked for me except to make me think things like "I know that girl I think. She likes cheese a lot, right?"

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Luisa
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3 days ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

When i don't know how to say i point to the menu. Ive done it in Paris, because i didn t want to ofend nobody Mama.

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HangryHangryHippo
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3 days ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Depending on from where this person was traveling from, didn't have roaming. More often than not, in those cases you depend on wifi so texting in this context could mean from any messaging platform like Whatsapp.

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