We Need to Talk (Because Small Talk is Boring)
Happy New Year! Yes, I’m alive, still kicking…and yes—I ghosted this space for way too long. Am I proud? Absolutely not. But do I have good reasons? Absolutely yes (even if they’re only good enough for me). Writer’s block is evil, y’all. I’ve had a million things to say, but the words? Nowhere to be found. Honestly, I needed to step back, gather my thoughts, and ground myself. We’ll unpack that tea another time—it will need a whole other post.
For now, let’s get into something that’s been bugging me for a while: what I call the “literacy pandemic.” Dramatic? Maybe. Wrong? Not really. My friends are probably sick of hearing me rant about it, but I swear it’s real. Between TikTok loops, mindless scrolling, and “brain-rot” content, I feel like our collective attention spans have been taken hostage—and it’s setting us back in ways we’re not even noticing.
Small Talk is Dead. Long Live Real Conversations!
Confession time: I hate small talk. Always have, always will. I’m awkward, anxious, and my idea of fun is a “Did-you-know-octopuses-have-three-hearts?” type conversation. (Fun fact: they do, and two of them stop beating when they swim. You’re welcome for that random trivia.)
Lately, it feels like we’ve lost the art of conversation. I don’t know if it’s because we’re too distracted or just tired, but it feels like people don’t talk to think anymore, they talk to fill silence.
And look, I get it—life is busy, our brains are fried, and not everyone wants to debate history or politics over coffee- but as someone who thrives on food-for-thought conversations, it’s a little soul-crushing to feel like even casual chats are becoming… shallow?
I catch myself zoning out when a conversation isn’t stimulating, and that’s not me being pretentious—it’s just that my brain craves deeper discussions. Sometimes, it’s not even that people are quiet or shy; it’s that we’re so used to short, surface-level interactions that our conversational muscles are atrophying.
Please, For the Love of Words, Pick Up a Book
Recently, I started reading consistently again, and wow…my brain is so grateful. Books force you to slow down. They force you to pause, think, and reflect, which is something scrolling just doesn’t often do.
I grew up spending summer holidays in Portland devouring books from my home library. Shoutout to the librarian who would let me smuggle home more than one book at a time (she’s a real one). Somewhere along the way, we traded deep-thinking content for 2-second TikTok swipes and “Netflix in the background” syndrome. We abandon TikToks and reels if they don’t grab us in the first few seconds. No wonder our attention spans are crumbling.
And before you say, “I’m not a book person,”—that’s fine. But give your brain something that forces it to think. Long-form podcasts, deep-dive YouTube videos, E-books and even thought-provoking articles—anything that sparks your imagination or challenges your perspective.
As someone in communications, I can tell you firsthand—reading has made me sharper, more creative, and better at expressing myself. There’s something magical about being lost in a story or learning a new concept that makes you go- “Oh, I never thought about it like that!” and I never want that magic to disappear.
On Brain Rot (It’s Not Just a Funny Meme)
“Brain rot” has become one of the internet’s favourite terms this year, but it’s realer than we think. The definition? The slow deterioration of your mental or intellectual sharpness because you’re over-consuming trivial, mindless content.
A friend recently admitted they’ve been spotting signs in themselves—slower thinking, trouble focusing, struggling to process information. And honestly? Same.
The issue isn’t necessarily that we’re watching silly content (I grew up in the Vine era too, so let’s be real!); We’ve been spoon-fed quick-hit, dopamine-driven content for years with fewer and fewer alternatives.
I remember a university course I took about five years ago where we studied how fast-paced cartoons (think rapid frame changes and flashing visuals) affected kids’ brains. Their eyes were taking in so much at once that their brains couldn’t fully process it. Now translate that to more recent content forms and scrolling— we’re all those kids now, overstimulated and under-thinking.
Wrapping It Up
At the end of the day, I’m not here to shame anyone for scrolling (trust me, I’ve spent way too long watching those Jet2Holiday videos too). But I do think we owe it to ourselves to feed our brains the good stuff every once in a while—the kind of content that sticks with you, makes you curious, or sparks a conversation that isn’t just, “So…crazy weather, huh?”
The truth is, our minds are like muscles—if we don’t challenge them, they get lazy. So here’s to giving our minds a little more love this year. Less mindless scrolling, more mindful consuming.
And hey—if you made it to the end of this post, congratulations: you just proved your attention span is still alive and well.
Here’s My Brain-Rot Survival Kit
1. Read 10 pages a day (or listen to one chapter of an audiobook).
2. Listen to one thought-provoking podcast a week—bonus points if it’s on a topic you know nothing about.
3. Journal or brain-dump once a week—your thoughts deserve space outside your phone.
4. Schedule “scroll-free” time—even just 30 minutes where you sit with your thoughts or do nothing.
5. Ask better questions when you talk to people. (“What’s something you learned recently?” is my favorite.)
Your Turn—Let’s Talk
When was the last time you consumed something—book, podcast, video—that genuinely made you stop, think, and go, “Wow, I never thought of it that way before?”
And if you can’t remember… maybe that’s your sign to start looking.
Until next time,
Your friendly neighborhood anti-brain-rot advocate
The diary of a 20 something 
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