Do you bite your nails?

KindGrind · Post by **KindGrind** » Sat Nov 08, 2008 5:33 pm

Was wondering this. This is a bad habit I've had since I was a kid. Stopped for some time for a month or two, but it came back. It seems a rather common bad habit in men (and even women) my age. Or is it?

Post by **BulletMagnet** » Sat Nov 08, 2008 5:40 pm

I sometimes pick at them with other fingers' nails, but never bit them.

Pixel_Outlaw · Post by **Pixel_Outlaw** » Sat Nov 08, 2008 6:08 pm

I sure do, but I only rip the white part off nothing unhealthy.

Frederik · Post by **Frederik** » Sat Nov 08, 2008 6:26 pm

No, but I grind my teeth while asleep

iatneH · Post by **iatneH** » Sat Nov 08, 2008 6:43 pm

No, but I pick at the cuticles with my other nails/scissors/clippers a lot. They bother me a lot.

The Coop · Post by **The Coop** » Sat Nov 08, 2008 6:46 pm

Nope.

Arvandor · Post by **Arvandor** » Sun Nov 09, 2008 2:16 am

When I was a kid I'd bite them, but braces fixed the problem =P They did a number of things to keep me from being able to bite my nails, and after being in braces for 3 years, it kind of broke the habit.

I also used to pick at them with my other fingernails. I have no idea what broke that habit, but... That one's gone too. Gotta use clippers now like a "civilized" being.

Pixel_Outlaw · Post by **Pixel_Outlaw** » Sun Nov 09, 2008 2:27 am

I quite enjoy the experience, men with long nails are an abomination.

TLB · Post by **TLB** » Sun Nov 09, 2008 2:43 am

BulletMagnet wrote:I sometimes pick at them with other fingers' nails, but never bit them.

This.

And agreed, Pixel McOutlaw, men with long fingernails are, indeed, an abomination.

Andi · Post by **Andi** » Sun Nov 09, 2008 5:20 am

Nails? What nails?

I ate them all off.

Aquas · Post by **Aquas** » Sun Nov 09, 2008 5:48 am

Guilty. I mean, I could use a clippers but I've always opted to bite them. Oral fixation and all, and well, I can't let them get long for my guitar playing.

Shalashaska · Post by **Shalashaska** » Sun Nov 09, 2008 5:50 am

When I was little I used to be pretty bad at biting my nails and I even bit....my toe nails

(hey, I was a kid!) Now I just do the whole pick at them with my other nails sort of thing when I notice they're getting long.

themachinist · Post by **themachinist** » Sun Nov 09, 2008 6:29 am

I don't do it but I've always found this to be a very unusual "habit" and wondered why it's as common as it is.

Lordstar · Post by **Lordstar** » Sun Nov 09, 2008 6:51 am

BulletMagnet wrote:I sometimes pick at them with other fingers' nails, but never bit them.

yeah and then tear them away. Thats pretty bad too +1 from me for that

jonny5 · Post by **jonny5** » Sun Nov 09, 2008 6:52 am

if you consider the bacteria and crap that builds up under your nails.....eeeew

putting that in your mouth

gross

kengou · Post by **kengou** » Sun Nov 09, 2008 7:53 am

themachinist wrote:I don't do it but I've always found this to be a very unusual "habit" and wondered why it's as common as it is.

Seems very strange habit to me too. I have no idea what would compel someone to do it.

Arvandor · Post by **Arvandor** » Sun Nov 09, 2008 8:00 am

themachinist wrote:I don't do it but I've always found this to be a very unusual "habit" and wondered why it's as common as it is.

Maybe it's an instinct of sorts? With how frail our fingernails are they aren't exactly useful for digging or climbing, and have minimum use as weapons. If they get too long, they'd be more likely to become a liability than an advantage. Maybe we've been biting our nails for a very VERY long time, as a species. Perhaps similar to how rodents constantly have to gnaw on things to keep their front teeth from growing out of control.

But really who knows? =)

StoofooEsq · Post by **StoofooEsq** » Sun Nov 09, 2008 10:37 am

kengou wrote:
themachinist wrote:I don't do it but I've always found this to be a very unusual "habit" and wondered why it's as common as it is.
Seems very strange habit to me too. I have no idea what would compel someone to do it.

Nervousness or the lack of being occupied with a task, particularly one that involves the use of hands. It's an ugly habit, considering where a nail biter's fingers may have been previously.

Etrian · Post by **Etrian** » Sun Nov 09, 2008 10:50 am

I have a reaaaaaaally bad habit of using my fingernails as a toothpick.. but I don't bite them much. It is SO FRUSTRATING when someone you're talking to is going "om nom nom nom" on their hands..

Another bad habit I have is rubbing my tongue across the top row of my teeth.. yep.. I know it's weird.

Arvandor · Post by **Arvandor** » Sun Nov 09, 2008 11:11 am

Eh, I'm always probing rough edges and sharp spots and stuff along the top row of teeth with my tongue. Doesn't seem too odd to me. Sometimes I even chew softly on the sides of my tongue, like a tongue massage of sorts. Now THAT'S weird... isn't it? =P

elfhentaifan · Post by **elfhentaifan** » Sun Nov 09, 2008 11:40 am

no, i only eat them after clipping them with the scissor.

KindGrind · Post by **KindGrind** » Sun Nov 09, 2008 12:48 pm

elfhentaifan wrote:no, i only eat them after clipping them with the scissor.

Hahaha.

Of course, when the nails are no more (you come to a point where you have nothing left to bite on) I literally bite the tip of my fingers. I am a very relaxed guy, and adhere to the theory that when one is idle and waiting for something, well, you need something to do. This is not totally uncontrollable, though. In public, I kind of know it's inappropriate and instinctively don't do it. I can also be a day without touching my fingers, then in 5 minutes I totally destroy a day's worth of growing.

Jockel · Post by **Jockel** » Sun Nov 09, 2008 1:24 pm

Arvandor wrote:Maybe it's an instinct of sorts?

Humans don't have instincts ^^"
It's hard to explain why in a foreign language for me, so i can't be arsed to explain it here.

@Topic: No, i dont bite nails.
But i lick pu... oh wait ^^

Michaelm · Post by **Michaelm** » Sun Nov 09, 2008 4:40 pm

Jockel wrote:Humans don't have instincts

Sure they do.
After all, we're just an animal like all the others.

Jockel · Post by **Jockel** » Sun Nov 09, 2008 6:43 pm

Michaelm wrote: After all, we're just an animal like all the others.

While i do agree on that point, that still doesn't mean we automatically have instincts. You see, psychologically speaking, an instinct is a chain of reactions to a certain stimulation which
1. is not controllable by the individual
2. is more complicated than the mind of the individual is capable to understand
3. applies to the whole species, rather than individuals

humans therefore can't have instincts, because they can always decide whether or not to rely on their intuition; they can reflect their actions; and not every human being will react the same to a certain stimulation.
for example if you believed we would have an instinct to stay away from deadly heights - some can overcome their fear and just deal with the height, while others would not be able to go up high, and people with suicidal tendencies would like to jump off that height. (You probably already noticed that this clearly contradicts points 1-3)

thats not to say that instincts don't exist.
the mayfly for example instantly uses its short life outside of the water to mate. every mayfly does that. they can't know that they will die in the following hours, but they do it. this example is valid when you hold it against those 3 points.

sry if that made no sense, it's not exactly easy to express this in a foreign language.

Shelcoof · Post by **Shelcoof** » Sun Nov 09, 2008 6:57 pm

I smack my friend over the head at times when he does it. Annoys the hell out of me

Ed Oscuro · Post by **Ed Oscuro** » Mon Nov 10, 2008 12:50 am

Much toned down from even just a few years ago.

I'd kick the habit entirely but I don't like to take the time to do manicure

That and also the feeling of running something under a nail = OMG CLEAN

Definitely don't do it in public.

Ruldra · Post by **Ruldra** » Mon Nov 10, 2008 1:10 am

@Jockel: Humans have a lot of instincts, your post just explains that we can control them to some extent. That doesn't mean they don't exist.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instinct#In_humans

[/derail]

Pixel_Outlaw · Post by **Pixel_Outlaw** » Mon Nov 10, 2008 2:05 am

If I don't wipe properly I sometimes get endstinks.

Jockel · Post by **Jockel** » Mon Nov 10, 2008 9:07 am

Ruldra wrote:@Jockel: Humans have a lot of instincts, your post just explains that we can control them to some extent. That doesn't mean they don't exist.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instinct#In_humans
[/derail]

Other sociologists argue that humans have no instincts, defining them as a "complex pattern of behavior present in every specimen of a particular species, that is innate, and that cannot be overridden." Said sociologists argue that drives such as sex and hunger cannot be considered instincts, as they can be overridden. This definitory argument is present in many introductory sociology and biology textbooks, but is still hotly debated.

Funny, my opinion is mentioned there too

But let's agree to disagree here, as discussing this is pretty much irrelevant. ^^"