2020 made me open up to strangers, but apocalyptic small talk is wearing thin

A shared crisis has changed the rules of polite interaction, but sometimes deflection has its uses. "As the pandemic enters its 86th month (it's been about that long, right?), I sometimes feel like there's a weariness setting in towards this new expectation to be more open. We can't always reflect thoughtfully on the ambient shittiness of the year with everyone we speak to. A new small talk — bleaker, world-weary, but nonetheless just as deflecting as the old one — is taking over." Josephine Tovey contemplates in the Guardian.