Anonymous thoughts about small talk.
The exchange of content that communicates only availability.
The enormous effort required to say very little.
You can maintain it indefinitely while feeling completely alone.
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Small talk is the social technology for being present without being vulnerable. It communicates willingness to engage while preventing actual engagement. It's exhausting for people who don't find it instinctive and alienating for people who need more than it offers. The loneliness of small talk is that you can maintain it indefinitely while feeling completely alone.
Anonymous thoughts about small talk posted here are from people who find the performance costly — the honest account of what it's like to move through social surfaces that never open.