There is a bug on my hand. 10%
My hands fell asleep. 8%
I’m making a baby laugh. 10%
I forgot to hold my applause until everyone has been called. 72%
In a recent survey, The Sundial asked 102 people, “why are you applauding?” at Ohio State University’s summer commenceme
nt. Respondents were proud that their investment in a college education had culminated in a college degree. However, their applause did not necessarily reflect this. Most people were applauding for very different, legitimate reasons.
7 percent of respondents were clapping to kill a bug on their palm. It is summer, and mosquitos are a huge nuisance. This finding is in line with previous Sundial surveys that have found people generally applaud more in the summer, while people in winter are trying to keep their hands from freezing.
5 percent of respondents were playing with a nearby baby. All they had to do was clap to make a baby laugh! How silly!
3 percent of respondents’ hands had fallen asleep. After having sat on their hands for over an hour, they used their forearms to slap their palms together in order to wake up their hands. How silly!
A majority of respondents were applauding because they forgot the speaker told them to hold their applause until everyone had been called. This simple instruction went forgotten for every person called. People have complained about this kind of negligence before, and The Sundial’s findings confirm: only the most annoying people are applauding.
Many respondents said they would have rather watched commencement from home, on television, where they could ignore applause lines and keep their hands busy with snacks. Future polls may ask people what they would rather be eating if they weren’t clapping so much, if patting thighs is an acceptable alternative to applause and in what situations applause is more appropriate than snapping.
– Travis Filicky, Senior Staff Member