Most of us know that all humans have some personal space requirements, although these vary based on gender and culture, and that humans tend to set a distance to one another of which they are not aware most of the time. Personal space is the space we keep between ourselves and others. This is the space that is around us. It is the space that we claim as our own. It is the area that a person considers his or her territory. According to Hall, this boundary is established by about age 8. Personal space is considered a form of nonverbal communication by scientists that human used without realization. If the personal space is crossed, this causes the other person to feel threatened by the invader. They might feel too close. When personal space is violated, people tend to use messages, nonverbal cues, to let others know they are uncomfortable.
The norms surrounding the amount of space maintained between an individual and others varies depending on the person's culture, gender, and the relationship between individuals for example, whether it is intimate or formal. While personal space differs within and across cultures and there is "no fixed distance-sensing mechanism man that is universal of all cultures, [but] it is often considered universal that all individuals have a need for some personal space" (Hall, E., 1968, p. 91).
As with most rules for social behavior, humans are not generally aware that they are following them. Our need for personal space, and our need to control this space, is neither conscious nor intentional. What this means is we are not aware that we set distances or that there are rules for how close to stand or where to sit, but each culture has norms people are expected to follow regarding personal space. These norms, or rules, are strictly enforced, but generally only through informal social controls, like giving someone a "funny look" when she gets too close or moving away slightly when someone brushes up against y...