If Someone Lacks Common Sense, You'll Notice These 11 Everyday Behaviors Instantly
They struggle with social boundaries and unwritten rules.
Asier Romero | Shutterstock While "common sense" is generally vague in definition, most people in our society characterize it with a kind of association. If you associate with, understand, and grasp the nature of the people and things around you competently, you have common sense. Depending on the environment you're in, the ability to leverage common sense may change, whether that's in the workplace, at home, or at a random social event.
However, you can also characterize a lack of common sense by a few overarching topics and behaviors, such as ignoring "red flags" and doing things solely for the sake of attention. If someone lacks common sense, you'll notice these everyday behaviors instantly, because they often come at the expense of their well-being and that of everyone else around them.
If someone lacks common sense, you'll notice these 11 everyday behaviors instantly
1. They overshare everywhere
Bricolage | Shutterstock
Whether it's online through social media or in conversations with people they just met, if someone lacks common sense, they'll overshare everything, everywhere. While it might seem like the perfect way to connect with someone — as shared experiences often bond people — going too deep, too quickly, in a conversation with a person you don't know well can actually sabotage a blooming relationship.
According to a study published in Communication Studies, when we offer a secret or an overshared detail about our lives, it's a "possession" that becomes co-owned by the person receiving it. If they don't know us well or feel an obligation to withhold that information in other settings, sharing it again can sabotage trust and even create a burden for other people to hold space for it.
Even if it seems harmless, it can sabotage relationships, and sometimes, even sabotage a person lacking common sense's personal safety and privacy.
2. They leave everything unlocked
antoniodiaz | Shutterstock
A person who lacks common sense may also have low levels of "street smarts" — the kind of knowledge often characterized by social awareness out in public. When it comes to personal safety, they'll constantly put themselves at risk — leaving their car doors unlocked, their front door open to the public, and even their phones available without a passcode.
Even if they've never had an issue doing it before, it truly only takes one person, one situation, or one malicious intent to put their safety at risk. So, even if they use the "it's never happened before" to justify these lazy decisions, they're overlooking the power of a single safeguard in their everyday routine that can have huge impacts.
3. They ask poorly timed questions
Gorynvd | Shutterstock
There's no such thing as a "stupid question," but when it comes to someone who lacks common sense, poor timing is always in their corner. Whether it's saying something like "What does this mean?" a few seconds after someone explains something in a work meeting or "Why do you care so much?" in the face of vulnerability, they miss some of the social nuances that make people feel seen, heard, and appreciated.
Asking questions helps us to make sense of the world around us and actually bonds us to other people in conversations. But when they're ignorant, poorly timed, or rooted in judgment, they can do more harm than good.
4. They ignore 'red flags' often
PeopleImages | Shutterstock
Whether it's getting into relationships with potential partners swamped with "red flags" or giving strangers with clear warning signals the time of day, people who lack common sense put themselves in harm's way in so many different areas of their lives.
According to psychology professor Lawrence Josephs, this ignorance around red flags, even if a person actually notices them, is often a defense mechanism. They want to maintain a positive illusion about their partners, strangers, and the world around them, even though they've been proven time and time again to be careful with trust and safety.
5. They act like the rules don't apply to them
MDV Edwards | Shutterstock
From overstepping the boundaries of the people around them to literally breaking legal laws, if someone lacks common sense, you'll notice these everyday behaviors instantly. Rooted in a sense of chronic entitlement, it's these same people who often struggle with respect and balance in every sense of life.
This all comes down to what they think is "fair" in their personal lives and the world, like psychologist Douglas LaBier suggests. If someone doesn't immediately drop everything to help them or they don't get their way, they immediately assume it's a matter of "fairness." Anything that doesn't immediately serve them is unfair.
6. They seek validation and attention
fizkes | Shutterstock
If someone lacks common sense, they often seek validation and attention from others. Whether it's online, with their friends, or in a work meeting, everything they say and do is rooted in a desire to be seen and appreciated by others. Especially rooted in their time on social media, people who regularly seek validation form their identity around what people think of them, how they react to their posts, and how much attention they get.
For people who lack common sense, it's become second nature. They completely overlook the habits, self-care, and intention needed to craft that sense of stability internally, and instead look for it online and from the people around them.
7. They lack spatial awareness in public
Chay_Tee | Shutterstock
Many people who lack common sense don't just overstep emotional and social boundaries in public settings and conversation — they also lack the spatial awareness to respect people's physical space. Whether they're on public transportation or having a conversation with someone at work, they're regularly overstepping physical boundaries and making people feel uncomfortable.
Of course, not everyone who struggles to read social cues inherently lacks common sense, but struggling to respect boundaries and personal space is a key to building better relationships that those who do often lack.
8. They show up late everywhere
Andrii Iemelianenko | Shutterstock
People who lack common sense are often so tied up in their own thoughts and needs that they disrespect other people's time without realizing it. They struggle to plan ahead and organize their time, so they're always missing commitments and showing up late.
It's always "I lost track of time" or "I have so much going on." They rely on excuses and justifications for their disrespectful behaviors, rather than owning up to self-awareness for the true root cause of the issue. And, unfortunately, it's this kind of honesty and accountability that truly makes people feel appreciated in the end.
9. They never contribute to shared events
WESTOCK PRODUCTIONS | Shutterstock
Whether it's "forgetting" to bring something to the work potluck, never bringing the host a gift at a party, or being the last person to offer to put their card down at a restaurant, if someone lacks common sense, you'll notice these everyday behaviors instantly.
They know that someone will bring something. Someone will pay. Someone will figure it out. If they also have a blend of entitlement internally, they're also too caught up in their own needs and struggles to consider how they can selflessly help others.
10. They refuse to ask for help
Giulio_Fornasar | Shutterstock
Even if it's uncomfortable or difficult to ask for help in environments like the workplace, people want to help. They want to feel needed and thoughtful in their interactions with people, and being able to offer advice or help to someone fulfills that wish.
However, if someone lacks common sense, they'll often avoid asking for help, even when they need it. They're so caught up in trying to seem "perfect" or independent that they overlook the power of advice and help from others, at the expense of their social interactions and conversations.
11. They post everything on social media
PeopleImages | Shutterstock
While many people who regularly post on social media find a sense of belonging in their virtual communities and build their identity by crafting a personal feed, if someone lacks common sense, you'll notice that they share literally everything online.
It's not just about oversharing personal details to strangers, but letting anyone have access to what their home looks like, how they spend their days, and the places they frequent without restrictions. They put their own safety and privacy at risk consistently, ignorant of the access that people they don't even know have on their personal social media platforms.
Zayda Slabbekoorn is a senior editorial strategist with a bachelor's degree in social relations & policy and gender studies who focuses on psychology, relationships, self-help, and human interest stories.
