I feel weirdly bad about this and I’m curious if anyone else relates…
I cannot fake laugh. Like, I just can’t do it. If something isn’t actually funny to me, forcing a laugh feels so unnatural and honestly kind of painful? My face will ache. I can smile and be like “haha yeah that’s funny,” but when people are full on dying laughing at something that clearly isn’t that funny (and you can tell it’s being forced), I cringe so hard inside.
The thing is, I feel like I can always tell when someone’s fake laughing. It’s immediate. And it makes me uncomfortable. I almost wish I couldn’t pick up on it because then maybe I’d just go along with it like everyone else seems to.
To be fair, I can force out a little chuckle in small talk, like with coworkers or strangers. I don't love doing it, but I can do it because I want to come across warm and not awkward. But that’s very different from the over the top, “I’m dying laughing” type of thing people do. Especially when you can literally watch it switch on and off, like they’re fake laughing one second, then immediately back to a straight face. It just feels so bizarre to me… like is that not exhausting??
What makes this more confusing is that I am a funny person. I can make people genuinely laugh, like real belly laughs. I've been told I'm funny and I know when people are genuinely laughing. So when I hear people fake laughing for others, part of me is like… why?? It feels so inauthentic. Being funny is a skill and people are out here getting undeserved laughs! I'm so petty.
But socially, I feel like I’m the odd one out. I had a friend literally pull me aside at a party once in college and tell me, “you need to start fake laughing,” because otherwise people might think I’m a bad vibe. That honestly stuck with me. I think about it all the time now.
To clarify – I never just stand there stone faced, I try to smile, be engaged, keep the energy up, nod along, but actually forcing a laugh just doesn’t come out naturally. And when I do try, my face literally aches after and I feel wiped.
Does anyone else experience this? Do you feel like it affects how people perceive you? Or is this one of those things that matters way less than I’m making it out to?