Upset
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"Small Talk" is for People with Small Minds

I absolutely [b][i]loathe[/i][/b] what people refer to as "small talk". To me it's just so silly and pointless, the exchange of ideas when such an exchange is superfluous at best. Examples:
"How ya doin'?"
"Nice weather we got"
"Hey, did you watch the footy? Which team do you barrack for?"
Look, I couldn't care LESS about this nonsense, so don't bother me and leave me alone! I especially hate it when the one asking such stupid questions is a complete stranger in some public space, like a shop or street. Communication should only ever be engaged in when it's actually important that people engage in it; that is, for the express purpose of conveying useful, important or interesting information. That's it.
I've heard that there are many cultures where this rubbish just doesn't happen. Apparently, it's only in the weird Anglosphere where we have to put up with this nonsense, and it's just my rotten luck to be stuck in Australia, the country that everyone else thinks is just so "relaxed", "informal" and "friendly" (ex. they call everyone by their first names here). Ugh! You'd get sick of it after a while, trust me, and familiarity breeds contempt.
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Well I like small talk, it often leads to bigger conversations and is polite and social grease. How would you start every conversation with every stranger, with some deep probing question? That would be creepy.
FormerAtheist · 26-30
@CrystalSkull That's just it; you don't start conversations with "every stranger". Every single one of them? Why would you do that? 🤔
@FormerAtheist every stranger one chooses to talk to, it’s really not that hard to understand. In my country people talk to one another all the time, it’s part of our culture to be friendly, smile and say hello and start random conversations on the street. It’s good manners if someone greets you to greet back. Sure some people prefer to be quiet I do too at times but good manners and social etiquette never go out of style.