Have you ever seen someone looking at you or people you were with and asked them what they were looking at?

A much better approach would be “sir, do I know you?. You keep starring our way and maybe we know each other”.

This approach is much safer than your suggestion. The other person immediately goes on the defense and then look out.

It isn’t common, or if it is, I never notice. But when I was younger, I was with someone in their car, and they had short business to attend to. I waited in the car on my own. Some lady in another car right in front of the one I was in just wouldn’t stop staring at me. I mean it seemed indefinite. So I got sick of it, thrust my head forward and raised both my eyebrows as high as they would go, staring straight at her. She looked away and didn’t look back haha.

I’ve been tempted to, but I don’t think I ever actually have.

VERY common for me. I use sign language so I’m used to being stared at constantly. It happens almost every time I’m out in public—even more so if I try to speak instead of sign. Rude buggers.

Most of the time I ignore the starers, but sometimes it becomes really bad and then I just stare back… I have a nice, cold, “don’t eff with me” stare. That usually does the job. Other times, I sarcastically smile and give a little wave back.

The most interesting ‘stare fest’ I’ve ever had was a 7 or 8 year old girl who came over, pulled out a chair and joined us at our table and stared at us while we talked. We looked at her parents and they looked at her, at us, then just went on eating, no reaction. Awkward. Since it was a little girl, we just smiled and continued with our conversation. Oh well!

I drift off into daydreaming mode sometimes and stare blankly ahead. I’ve roused out of it and realized that it appeared I was staring at someone.

Once I was in the university dinning room, trying to read a sign on a far wall, when some lady got up, came over from across the room and said “why are you staring at me?” I just replied back “I’m not, I’m staring at the good-looking girl over there….”

She just huffed and went back to her seat

Actually, while on the bus or train, I’ll sometimes just be staring off into space daydreaming and realize I’m looking directly at someone when I catch them glaring at me. They’re probably thinking, “what the f*** are you looking at?”

Choose to believe you are a person who is notable, presentable and worth noticing.

What you did, stare back at her until she looked away, was the best thing to do. Being rude is seldom a good solution. The person you are rude to then has the advantage. When I was young, I thought, “When I’m old, I’m going to be a salty old lady.” As I got older, I realized that NOT using ‘bad’ language or being rude made the times I DID indulge in an angry, “Shit!” made people sit up and take notice.

I’ve never said anything.

I do the staring contest thing with them until they look away. Sometimes longer so they look away, get uncomfortable and look back then look away again so they know I’m saying, “look, I can do crazy eyes too!”

No, I’ve thought it often enough but never actually said it. I figure, they probably don’t realise how obvious they are being and usually when you catch their eye they realise and stop.

My boyfriend often waves at people if they stare at him. The look of shock on their face is brilliant!

If someone is staring at me or a friend of mine then I do sometimes ask the person I am with what the other person is looking at. But I usually just deal with it by staring right back at them, total eye contact for as long as it takes them to get back to minding their own business. Gets them every time.

On the other side of things..I catch myself accidentally staring at people all the time. Sometimes people are just that interesting. And other times I’m not really looking at them at all. They just happen to be in the exact place that my eyes rest while I think about various different things. Every time that happens I think to myself “Oh, God. This is the time I’m going to get my ass kicked for staring..”