Why Introverts Hate Small Talk

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3. While working at the reception desk at my Senior apartment building. . .

. . . I overheard several residents talking about high grocery prices. A gentleman on my floor came over and asked me, "What do you think about grocery prices?" I told him that I try not to think about them.

Was that a sincere answer? Of course not! But I wasn't going to just join in with the toneless groaning and grumbling. If I said how I really feel, I probably would have offended most of the people present. I know that grocery prices are the result of a confluence of many variables and I know that Trump's pig-headed policies account for the lion's share of those variables.

Most of my fellow tenants lean towards the Right side of the political spectrum. I heard two of them harping on about Harris' behavior on election night, saying how she didn't want to come out to make her concession speech. I had to bite my tongue to avoid mentioning Trump's collection of post-election faux pax in 2020/2021.

I've heard them heap praise on Musk and say that he is going to sell cheap houses on Amazon. I've heard them comment favorably about a quarterback's prayer and claim that was the reason for a particular team's win-- as if the other team probably didn't have another equally religious player who also prayed to the same God with the same request.

Small talk is different from gentle pleasantries. When I ask someone about their health or their family, I genuinely want to extend a tiny fragment of human connection. Small talk is the verbal equivalent of intestinal noises. People just sit around emitting them while giving no real thought to the complaints or opinions they are expressing.

Sorry. Rant over.