11 Groups of People That May Experience Social Invisibility

I was sitting at a coffee shop this morning and I noticed a group of young, attractive girls in line to order.

I then noticed an older woman standing alone in line behind them. She appeared...sad.

I looked around the cafe and noticed something interesting: All of the men were stealing glances at the group of girls, but none of them were looking at the woman standing alone.

An enormous pit of sadness formed inside me. I wanted to know more about the woman. Was she truly sad? Does she go through life with a sense of never being seen? What is her day-to-day experience like? What are her dreams?

As I left, I started to broaden these questions out to other people in society that also experience this phenomenon known as social invisibility - the sense that one is intentionally or systematically ignored by society.

And I further wondered: Am I as guilty of ignoring such people as everyone else who does? What more can I do to better acknowledge, respect, and express kindness to people who may not feel like they are seen or that anyone cares?