I’m not a fan of small talk. I can fake it if necessary, but I really have to force myself to appear interested and friendly. It’s not that I don’t care about people, it’s just that if I’m going to say something, I want it to be meaningful and important. I just don’t see the point in exchanging general pleasantries like “how are you?” or “how’s your day going?” with random strangers. I’m sure they don’t really care how my day is going, yet society dictates that we make this small talk.

That being said, I sure love self-checkout lanes at grocery stores! If they are an option at a store I am shopping at, I will use these lanes 100% of the time. It saves me having to talk to a random person whom I would otherwise forget moments after leaving the store. For me, the less human interaction while shopping, the…