this post was submitted on 09 Jun 2026
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me_irl

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[–] DougPiranha42@lemmy.world 182 points 2 months ago (29 children)

Asking my life partner how their day was is not small talk. Asking the same question from the cashier at the grocery checkout is small talk.

[–] okwhateverdude@lemmy.world 11 points 2 months ago (3 children)

What if they are the same person?

[–] chisel@piefed.social 35 points 2 months ago

It averages out to medium talk.

[–] Whats_your_reasoning@lemmy.world 13 points 2 months ago

If there's someone behind you, that's called "holding up the line."

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[–] bequirtle@lemmy.world 131 points 2 months ago (4 children)

People think that "i hate small talk" must mean "i want big talk" because they cannot comprehend the idea of just shutting tf up

[–] iocase@lemmy.zip 40 points 2 months ago (1 children)

These thoughts rattling around in my head and this breath in my lungs would be wasted forever unless I combine them and thrust it upon your unwilling ears

—the entire world for some reason

Sorry, I'm quieter when I take my Ritalin!

[–] JackTea@piefed.world 8 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Not always true and a little besides the point. I went through a period where my friend circle ONLY made small talk. Hang out for a couple hours at a bar, 90% no talking and when we did it was either to insult each other or talk about our beers.

It became exhausting. Unsurprisingly we went our separate ways and never contacted each other again.

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[–] shweddy@lemmy.world 42 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Talking To my partner isn't small talk. Sustaining a conversation with a coworker who won't shut the fuck up is small talk

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[–] ohulancutash@feddit.uk 38 points 2 months ago

Some people are just scared of silence I guess.

[–] BaraCoded@literature.cafe 35 points 2 months ago (2 children)

That's what normies don't get about introverts: we're not above small talk, we're above small talk when it's all there is. Of course we'll ask the loved one how their day has been, and the fact is we'll actually shut the fuck up and listen to it all, and when things become serious we'll talk to say meaningful things.

Else, there's folie à deux echolalia, shitty jokes, movie lines, comfortable silence, or skipping it all to 'scorching hot sex'.

[–] PhoenixDog@lemmy.world 8 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I'm all for small talk. It's the superfluous small talk just to kill dead air I hate. I'd rather sit in an elevator and say nothing than talk about how much rain we're about to get this afternoon.

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[–] Shellofbiomatter@lemmus.org 28 points 2 months ago (1 children)

What's wrong with silence? You don't have to talk continuously.

[–] protist@retrofed.com 8 points 2 months ago (2 children)

Don't have to be silent continuously either, for that matter!

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[–] Kolanaki@pawb.social 26 points 2 months ago (2 children)

My bf and I barely talk at all. It's fucking awesome just being comfortable shutting the fuck up together.

[–] Beetschnapps@lemmy.world 6 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

You mean you don’t have someone constantly at their/your wits’ end… telling you that you’re either the cause of , or lack of the cause of everything?

Thought I was just old fashioned… LOVE…

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[–] Jarix@lemmy.world 25 points 2 months ago

With silence. Peace and tranquility. Simply enjoying someone's very presence without needing to verbalize it

[–] Azzu@leminal.space 23 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

The definition of small talk is literally establishing common ground in some way. It's only meant for people you don't or barely know.

It's absolutely unnecessary for people you already know deeply.

[–] Alvaro@lemmy.blahaj.zone 23 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Firstly, that sounds great. Secondly small talk is meaningless filler, not common topics, so asking common things is not small talk as long as I actually care and participate in the conversion (like "how are you?" Or "how was your day?" Or even "interesting weather today")

[–] Yamees@lemmy.ca 22 points 2 months ago (5 children)

Talking random bullshit with someone you know well is great, performative socially masked pleasantries specifically chosen for their generality, and uncontroversial nature is immensely draining emotionally and mentally.

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[–] Doom@lemmy.world 22 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I don't mind having a conversation about stupid bullshit, I love those. But I do hate having a superficial conversation filled with lies and obfuscation about meaningless topics neither of us care about solely for the sake of filling the silence. It's a waste of energy and time.

[–] UnrepententProcrastinator@lemmy.ca 7 points 2 months ago (10 children)

Then bring your A game to every conversation. Most people are interesting, they just need steering towards their subject of interest.

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[–] Malyca@lemmy.zip 22 points 2 months ago (1 children)

We're both autistic and therefore both hate small talk. Problem solved.

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[–] SeductiveTortoise@piefed.social 13 points 2 months ago (7 children)

The more I read into this thread, the more I appreciate being German. I don't talk to the cashier besides smiling at them and saying hello and goodbye and they don't expect me to. I only talk to people I want to talk to, besides at work. But even there I keep it low.

It's not that I don't like to talk. I just prefer to talk with a meaning.

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[–] wpb@lemmy.world 12 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

hi honey I'm home

such weather we're having huh?

you said it

Peak romance ❤️

[–] LuxSpark@lemmy.cafe 12 points 2 months ago (1 children)

You don’t need to discuss how pleasant the weather is, but talking about the important things in your life is necessary for a meaningful relationship.

[–] velma@lemmy.blahaj.zone 9 points 2 months ago (1 children)

It’s necessary, but discussing the big important things don’t take up very much time in a long term relationship. There’s a lot more small talk that happens, so best to be on the same page about both with your partner!

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[–] panda_abyss@lemmy.ca 10 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I mean, the Fins have a thriving society.

I can’t explain it, but they’re among the happiest people on earth.

[–] Jojowski@sopuli.xyz 7 points 2 months ago (1 children)

There was an interesting theory in a paper: during happiness research they interview people and ask them to imagine what the best life would look like and then estimate where they are compared to it in a scale of 0 to 10.

Well, in Finnish comprehensive schools we use grading 4-10 where 4 is "failed", so everything under 7 is bad and 8 is merely "ok". And as we learn this odd scale quite early it's stuck in our heads. So yeah.

I don't know any Finnish person that would describe their life as happy. Perhaps we mean to grade our life as merely tolerable when asked and the scale doesn't take into account this weird system that we use!

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[–] MonkderVierte@lemmy.zip 9 points 2 months ago (2 children)
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[–] wimthoelke@lemmy.world 9 points 2 months ago

yes, thats what I want

[–] BilboBargains@lemmy.world 8 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Exclusively dating ND women has been a blessed relief from small talk

[–] tmyakal@infosec.pub 12 points 2 months ago (3 children)

Every woman I've dated since high school has been taller and more autistic than the last. If my wife ever leaves me, I'll need to find a non-verbal WNBA star.

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[–] schmorpel@slrpnk.net 7 points 2 months ago

Life partner arrives home. Me: extends middle finger. Life partner: grunts. The rest of the interaction: [redacted]

[–] Zwrt@lemmy.sdf.org 7 points 2 months ago (1 children)

“I am home” is not small talk but a declaration, you inform anyone else currently in the home that you specifically (and not a burglar) are now present.

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[–] plutopos@lemmy.zip 7 points 2 months ago

No you transition straight into hardcore steamy sex

[–] Big_Boss_77@fedinsfw.app 7 points 2 months ago (4 children)

I hate small talk, vehemently opposed to it... been married over 15 years...

When it is someone you truly love and cherish... even the most mundane things come with a sense of beauty and wonder, because it's them. Their thoughts, their opinions, their take on whatever applies the meaning. My wife and I can talk about the rain and the trees and the bugs and the birds for hours, for no other reason than it gives us a chance to be together.

Looking at it the way the post does... you're missing the forest because of all the trees.

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[–] SCmSTR@lemmy.blahaj.zone 7 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Do people in relationships actually talk about useless shit all day??

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[–] MartianRecon@lemmus.org 6 points 2 months ago

Because the purpose of life is to experience it?

Hearing what happened at my gf's office shows that I'm interested in what she's doing. Her telling me about her coworker who had a health scare means she cares about the people around her in that office. Her asking how my baseball game went means she cares that I did well, or I had fun playing the game.

Life isn't a bunch of yes/no/maybe computer prompts from an RPG. That sounds like a miserable way to live to be honest.

[–] psx_crab@lemmy.zip 6 points 2 months ago

I thought so about myself too, until i realise i hate small talk because most of the time it's about topic idgaf or with people i don't want to interact with or when i'm supposed to focus.

[–] GraniteM@lemmy.world 6 points 2 months ago (2 children)

We either have free will or we have the illusion of free will so convincing and persistent that no meaningful distinction can be drawn and we must continue to act as if we have free will.

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