You'd be happier talking with a complete stanger for 30 min

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A Study has found that conversations with complete strangers make you happier:
https://pudding.cool/2025/06/hello-stranger/

I wonder if Autistic people would be happier? Maybe not because we tend to hate small talk.

That sounds like sheer hell

I like when strangers chat to me, because it makes me feel less self-conscious about myself, even though I can be shy around strangers. But it's like a compliment that they've gone out of their way to be friendly to me, so I always give them my time too by just doing small talk.

Why don't autistics like small talk?

It feels awkward. It's no improvement on silence. I feel a profound sense of "what the hell is the point of this except to run down my energy and frustrate me"? It's like when Superman gets a kryptonite necklace draped around his neck.

As long as the topic is about something interesting, that would be great. It's just super hard to have conversations about interesting topics with complete strangers.