like eavesdropping?
observing?
monitoring?

i hope to god you're not an English major.

>>17131705
Thank you although none of those will work for my purposes. I'm writing an essay on Rear Window if that helps. Observing is too light of a term, monitoring just isn't right for the overall attitude of it, and eavesdropping doesn't really have anything to do with it at all.

And no, thank god I'm not.

I guess for now I'll stick with snooping but use less intense phrases for it in the body paragraphs. But I had to identify the theme I was going to talk about and voyeurism wasn't the right word and I didn't want to have to use a whole sentence just to name the theme.

peoplewatching

>>17131696
scoping
taking note
surveillance
investigation
investigate
probe
review
scan
scrutiny
scrutinize
search
survey
recon
reconnoiter

>>17131725
this. describe it as the "gentle fascination that arises from witnessing other people navigate their own unique lives."

Rear Window is about a straight up voyeur though. I hope you're using this term to contrast with the protag's obsession with viewing the private lives of others.

>>17131758
You just made me look up the definition of voyeur. I looked up voyeurism and maybe it was my error IDK but I only saw definitions strictly referring to it as being sexual in nature. But when I looked up voyeur I got a different result with two definitions, one lacking any mention of sexual fetishes.

I felt I had to change the word because he's obviously not jacking off to Mr. Thorwald.

>>17131758
Thanks again, my essay is gonna sound so much better with the word voyeurism instead of snooping.

>>17131746
I'd suggest surveillance and reconnaissance if it's for the purpose of intelligence gathering, and watching or snooping if it's more of an individual, personal form of observing someone without their notice.
Rear Window is voyeurism though, in context of the narrative.