RE: This is gonna be the thread where we talk about stuff
08-27-2013, 12:16 PM
(This post was last modified: 08-27-2013, 12:22 PM by Jacquerel.)
Shared interests are a good way to meet people but I can definitely still be interested in watching people talk about things they are interested in but I'm not?
I also really don't think shared interests can be described as "the only meaningful reason to care about someone"...
Frankly I am usually a passive rather than active conversational partner in the first place, I just react to people rather than raising my own topics unless I have some burning question or problem I need solving. A lot of people I know are witting or funny or interesting or passionate almost regardless of what they are talking about and this makes for a fun conversation even if it is one in which I am playing the role of someone who doesn't even know what they are talking about let alone have any particular investment in it. Shared interests aren't the only conversational topic which it is possible to bond over, people can talk about what they did in the day, what they are planning to do, how they are feeling... Those don't last very long as subjects of themselves but they branch out once you get going (which is easier and more likely when there is more than one person you are talking to, which is why that is what I do more commonly) and you share anecdotes and make dumb inside jokes and make people laugh.
Making people laugh is fun, I can do that regardless of whether I am interested in the particular topic they are talking about.
e: I have a terrible habit of rereading and editing posts I make at least three times and I swear people are already replying to the original version by the time I'm satisfied, I should probably think things through before hitting Submit.
I also really don't think shared interests can be described as "the only meaningful reason to care about someone"...
Frankly I am usually a passive rather than active conversational partner in the first place, I just react to people rather than raising my own topics unless I have some burning question or problem I need solving. A lot of people I know are witting or funny or interesting or passionate almost regardless of what they are talking about and this makes for a fun conversation even if it is one in which I am playing the role of someone who doesn't even know what they are talking about let alone have any particular investment in it. Shared interests aren't the only conversational topic which it is possible to bond over, people can talk about what they did in the day, what they are planning to do, how they are feeling... Those don't last very long as subjects of themselves but they branch out once you get going (which is easier and more likely when there is more than one person you are talking to, which is why that is what I do more commonly) and you share anecdotes and make dumb inside jokes and make people laugh.
Making people laugh is fun, I can do that regardless of whether I am interested in the particular topic they are talking about.
e: I have a terrible habit of rereading and editing posts I make at least three times and I swear people are already replying to the original version by the time I'm satisfied, I should probably think things through before hitting Submit.