Where did the winking go?

I've never been good at it. I always sucked at the Killer Wink game because, I can wink either eye, but, when I do, that whole side of my face contorts...it's not at all subtle.

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cricket_bacon@reddit (OP)

Actually, I am a really poor winker. It looks a bit like I'm having a micro stroke when I try it.

... but have always been impressed by those that can deliver a solid wink.

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Eagle_1776@reddit

Anyone remember the game called winkum?

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Breklin76@reddit

I used to get a kick out of the weird shit you’d find out your body could do. Now, my body kicks the shit out of me for the weird shit I do.

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DantesGame@reddit

Damn the wallflowers and Debbie Downers here are depressing af.

GenXer to the core and in the DNA and I still do it every now and then regardless of who the audience is. NEVER had a problem or negative reaction to it *because I'm not acting like a fucking sexual predator* when I do it. That's not the only reason people wink.

Same for the gesture commonly used in Ireland of tapping the side of one's nose when you're "in on it" or "keeping a secret".

Sometimes a pipe is just a pipe.

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Criseyde2112@reddit

I need you in my life. More winking, less damning.

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DantesGame@reddit

gif

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brumac44@reddit

It was replaced by dull stares of incomprehension.

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Criseyde2112@reddit

My son does the Gen Z stare. It's insufferable. Back to winking!

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Mushy-sweetroll@reddit

And good riddance to it. It was generally pretty creepy.

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First_Culture8249@reddit

I swear I accidentally wink at people all the time. I don't really know how to explain the accidental part. But it's like I'm alll of a sudden just winking... and I realize as soon as I have finished winking that I just winked

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Serious_Ad4542@reddit

I agree there is a lot less winking than 35-40 years ago.

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Bflatclar1981@reddit

Winking is obnoxious and precious.

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T_Noctambulist@reddit

I've been accused of being a winker.

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GinX-@reddit

I wink when I'm fucking with someone.

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T_Noctambulist@reddit

I wink when I'm not... It makes them paranoid. I get to fuck with them without the effort.

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Arch2000@reddit

We still wink in our family. But we do it in a big, exaggerated, Bluth-family way

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DuoSonicSamurai@reddit

We do the Bluth chicken dance instead

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AwardSalt4957@reddit

What winks and fucks like a tiger?

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xZepoL@reddit

What?

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AwardSalt4957@reddit

Oh. Well the joke is that then you wink.

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SheriffBartholomew@reddit

What has two thumbs and a big package?

That UPS driver struggling to bring my delivery up the stairs.

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SheriffBartholomew@reddit

Winking is a playful gesture, and people are a hell of a lot less playful these days. Plus everything is intentionally misconstrued, so who wants to risk it?

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croissant_and_cafe@reddit

I wink at my daughter all the time. You should see her try to do it, she winks with her whole face.

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Silly-Shoulder-6257@reddit

There’s no eye contact! What’s the point!?

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FatherOfLights88@reddit

I've got winking down to an art form.

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Responsible-Middle35@reddit

I think young people would call it "ick" now as they don't tolerate the forwardness of adults the way we had to.

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DantesGame@reddit

And we care about that... why?

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Responsible-Middle35@reddit

Go right ahead and be yourself.

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Zombietomatillo@reddit

I think nowadays, if you accidentally wink at someone, its a sex offense. LOL.

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Honeybee71@reddit

Jason Bateman does it in just about every show/movie he’s in 🤣

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cricket_bacon@reddit (OP)

I'd argue Jason Bateman is our GenX poster boy.

He just checks all the boxes. Not only did he watch Little House on the Prairie, he was on the show! He's also a legitimate Teen Wolf.

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yanknga@reddit

Hopefully it died out along with whistling.

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DantesGame@reddit

Thank you for your application for Contemporary Social Director. At this time we're moving with a better qualified candidate... 😁

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TrickQuiet9630@reddit

'your wife, interested in photographs? he asked him knowingly...nudge, nudge, wink, wink, say no more'

i still wink, mostly in conversations where i can't 🙃 or /s, a wink eases the sting when i'm kidding someone...but now that you mentioned it, op, it does seem to have fallen out of favor.

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SpinShine-LEDSlipMat@reddit

My wife winks occasionally and it just throws me off. I don’t understand why she does it

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Far-Squash7512@reddit

I only ever used it as a secret one-on-one signal during group conversations. It never really felt natural for ME to do it for anything else, but others doing it was/is always fine. It's a twitching eyelid that can be creepy in the wrong circumstances but can also be a sign of friendliness, humor or support.

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pnutbtr123@reddit

Was replaced by RBF

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GirlStiletto@reddit

We grew up?

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tmmao@reddit

It shows up in Heated Rivalry! Def a sexual come on though, there 😉

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YouDaManInDaHole@reddit

😉😘

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Insightseekertoo@reddit

I wink when I drop a dad joke. I wink when I flirt with someone my age. I wink when the mood feels right. I've never been told it gives someone the ick. That being said, we had things that the silent generation did that felt icky, e.g.carrying around a handkerchief blowing your nose in it, then putting it in your pocket for later use.

Generational "ick" is a thing. At my age, I've stopped trying to please the younger people within reason. I do have manners, but will still jam to "Hot for Teacher".

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heelslover_1@reddit

Winking resides with me now 😉

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BeebsMuhQueen@reddit

Older people used to do it around us a lot and we picked it up. It’s from the generation before boomers. I still do it occasionally, but I’m not being creepy it’s more of an “ok, I gotcha” like an “I understand or I’ll take care of it”.

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Puzzleheaded-Sky3141@reddit

LEGIT I had to unlearn winking. I would wink a LOT. But people were embarrassed by it, and it was constantly taken the wrong way.

FWIW it's hard to unlearn...😉

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Diela1968@reddit

This is my take. In today’s climate it gets misconstrued.

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forfearthatuwillwake@reddit

I've found it skeezy for years. I'm glad it's out of fashion.

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wandernwade@reddit

It hurts my old eyes to wink. No thank you. If I wink, it’s probably bc of a lash, or dry eyes.

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eugenesnewdream@reddit

This just unlocked a memory from high school, mid 90s, where a boy I had a crush on made some joke (to the room in general) and then winked at me. My heart was all aflutter! Because even then it felt like a very grown-up thing to do. Now I can’t remember the last time I saw anyone wink. I think I’ve done it a couple of times but more ironically.

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Daienlai@reddit

gif

It became a joke unto itself

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ancientastronaut2@reddit

Yeah, it's considered creepy now. Admittedly I am a friendly winker, but now I'm a lot more selective about it than back in the day. I generally only do it with older people that get it's just friendly and I won't think I have a tick.

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