Talking to Strangers | David Mitchell's Soapbox
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 29 ก.ย. 2024
- David Mitchell highlights why talking to strangers is not a good thing.
LIKE David Mitchell on Facebook @ on. davidm...
David Mitchell's Soapbox DVD @ amzn.to/soapboxdvd
ABOUT DAVID MITCHELL'S SOAPBOX:
David Mitchell, star of UK TV favourites Peep Show and That Mitchell and Webb Look, brings us his unique perspective on the issues facing men of the world today.
![ได้เวลา! พาน้องแฝดฉีดวัคซีนครบ 1 เดือน🫣 [cc] แดนแพทตี้ SS2 | EP.52 |](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/IzeLtaXBLNE/mqdefault.jpg)
my sister spent a term of university in America. when she came back at Christmas she would walk down the road saying merry Christmas to people she didn't know. I had to have a strong word with her about being British
As an American, I can assure you we don't all do that. We have introverts too. I pride myself on my introversion, and I'm perfectly happy to not initiate pointless conversation in a public setting. Unfortunately, it's hard to get a support group going for introverts (for surely obvious reasons)... :)
@@madnessbydesign1415 yeah, but an extrovert British person would never do such a thing as the OC's sister would do. That's the key difference.
Not having that at all, all Mancunians say happy Christmas to everyone they see on Christmas Day , I suspect you may be a southerner
You sound like a southerner.
@@madnessbydesign1415 Why would you be proud of your introversion? Seems like a disadvantage in life. I get being okay with it but pride is a bit much right?
This sounds similar to Norway:
You know what it means if 50% of the seats on the buss are taken?
That means all the seats are taken.
We Norwegians are quite similar to brits.
@@Epicaq Better looking though
@@tipperary1082 Sorry we Brits ain't all pure breeds, we're a multicultural country.
@@vidiveniviciDCLXVI Are you saying that ethnic diversity makes cultures ugly? I hope you're not because that's moronic.
@@tipperary1082 beauty lies in the eye of the beholder my friend. To you it might seem moronic to him it might seem obviously true. So who cares?
Well, I can say that I'm one of those people that talks randomly to people on public transport, and I don't regret it at all. The conversations are well ranging and entertaining.
Still doing that?
Essentially, yeah. I got a string of Jobs where they ability to have easy connections and free flowing conversations are critical.
Seeing people you know and don't particularly like on buses is always bad as well. A busy bus is okay because you can pretend not to see them but a virtually empty one is far more difficult to negotiate.
A job must be held down to prevent it from getting a way from you. A fort is held (protected).
You don't protect a job, you just try not to lose it.
Hope that clears things up.
Future David Mitchell: "You will meet the love of your life at a dinner party. Perhaps you may, in retrospect, reconsider the whole premise of this Soapbox episode."
2012 David Mitchell: "I don't suppose you could cut out the intervening loneliness and simply give me her name now?"
Future David Mitchell: "Sorry. Rules of time travel, paradox and all that. You know how it is."
2012 David Mitchell: "Well obviously I don't know how it is, else I wouldn't have asked a question I knew I couldn't answer."
Future David Mitchell: "I suppose you'll just have to trust me when I say it will all be worth it in the end. Which, considering I'm you, shouldn't be terribly difficult."
2012 David Mitchell: "Fair enough. Tell her I said "thank you," if it won't cause a collapse of the continuum, won't you?"
Future David Mitchell: "I will indeed."
Reading the comments below, weighing up the pros and cons of arguments for and against talking to strangers, I realised the video had stopped. "Hmm, what videos will youtube choose to have a common link with David's rant?", methinks.
"Stranger Danger- a cautionary tale."
Well, that's my mind made up, even if I'm not a 9 year old girl from the eighties!
I'm curious now as to how, with this way of thinking, David acquired the friends he has. I'm not saying that he isn't worthy of friendship -- hell, *I* would gladly be his friend, but surely his friends were strangers at some point.
That's what I was thinking too.
I think he's talking about people in the media, the friends of friends of people he knows, not some random fanboy or girl.
The inflatable hover fort still makes me laugh.
I'm tempted to go fan boy and hop on the disagree bandwagon, but I have to admit you have a point. Social events are for social people, and should be oriented toward the extroverted. But I will say that it should not be thought rude when an introvert like myself prefers not to go, because I certainly don't mean to be. Let my type fish and read and I'll let your type dance and talk.
and chill out, I meant it. He actually could have, he real often does, that's amazing...
By the look of it, he also has a pink one but has only worn it once.
Oh David you would love Finland! If some speaks to you on the bus or the tube here, that's almost enough basis to have someone sectioned...
there was a time for a few years where I used public transportation every day. I hated having to speak to people I didn't know so much, that I would just turn to them and say," I don't want to talk to you. please stop talking to me", or something like that. I would inwardly laugh my ass off when the person would become insulted, and change seats so they could bore someone who didn't have the nerve to tell the person to stop talking.
Does this mean that the British aren't expected to make small talk on airplanes? How I envy them! I can't count how many times I've been on a plane where some silly person gets miffed that you want to listen to music or get some work done instead of chatting with them about their kids or ex for four hours.
One more reason never to board a plane.
+Sarah If you're sat next to me you'll never get a conversation out of me. If you try to start one the best you'll get is a smile and maybe a nod to show I care enough not to hurt your feelings by implying you're boring me, but not enough to ask follow up question on whatever you're talking about.
+Sarah I was quite recently on a 'plane with some young guy who'd immediately pulled out his notebook and earphones and spent the entire journey playing games music on the thing. As soon as the usual request to turn off all electrical appliances was announced when preparing to land, he couldn't stop talking! What an opportunity missed. I've met many interesting people whilst flying about the planet. Not any more it seems.
+tamsinthai Hey, we just wanna survive the journey and move on. I'm an introvert, I'm not that bothered about other people.
If you're an extrovert and are all about learning peoples' stories and finding new people, then more power to you! Whatever makes you happy.
What makes *me* happy is shutting the world out for a few hours before we get to where I actually wanna be =P
+tamsinthai Civil conversation seems to be beyond you, whereas hypocrisy seems to come quite naturally.
I know how David feels, I met one guy at a party who happens to get on the same train as me, it was dreadful, don't get me wrong, we had a nice chat but the obligation to speak to him *EVERYDAY* was exhausting when you have to get up at 5am every morning.
+Brandon Technically couldn't you just have told him? I bet he was also tired and could empathize.
sunfire65ph Are you mad? That's unspeakably rude.
Beard and thick timmed glasses?
That sounds more like a personal problem tbh.
Getting to know local shop keepers is also a problem, if they push things a little too far and establish an ersatz friendship. Then every time you see them you have to seem to be cheered by the sight of them, plus make small talk even though you have no interests that coincide beyond you wanting to buy something, and them wanting to sell it to you. (Less of a problem with doctors and pharmacists, as there's always your health to talk about.)
I love that this is the exact way David met his wife. Lmao
Of course the problem with the last idea is that if someone said "Do you just want to bin out on this and get books out?" I would be delighted and want to get to know them better.
A vicious circle, certainly. I suppose you could just quietly enjoy each other's company whilst both reading. Silences are never awkward when both parties have a book.
Has anyone every thrown a "bring a friend and a book" dinner party? Seems like a good idea, if only because it would expand conversational possibilities.
Public spaces like transit, parks, and cafes should be divided into sections: Extrovert and Introvert. That way, the people who gain energy from chatting with strangers or who are actually out to meet people will be collected together in some kind of socialization pen, while the rest of us are free to uninterruptedly mind our own business.
dutch train service has silent and not silent coupé's.
both are quiet except friends talking to each other.
Just do what you always do. Sit by yourself, pull your head in against your shoulders and don't make any kind of eye contact with anyone. Trust me, no one will want to talk to you.
Unnecessary. I am generally an extrovert, and have no patience for people who talk on public transportation.
Evan Friend
Then sit in the introvert section. No one will talk to you to call you on the lie anyway.
Or get headphones. They don’t even need to be playing sound. If anyone speaks to you, point at an ear.
Your ear, obviously.
I'm pretty fucking awkward, but given I grew up in small town Canada, I have this apparently outlandish thing I do where I just smile and say hello to passers-by. Not everyone, but those that wouldn't appear to be utterly repulsed by me merely acknowledging their existence in a friendly manner.
Its a thing done in the north of England and Scotland too, a little nod and "hiya" to some people on the street. Thats about it though
I can’t watch too many of these because it makes me feel totally lame and predictable that I basically agree with everything David ever says haha
Been to several weddings and hated all of them. You're encouraged to mingle when really I just want to hang around with people I know.
Why bother mingling? So I can meet a bunch of people who I will likely NEVER have anything to do with ever again? They all live bloody miles away. It's such a waste of time.
But then that's the point, right? The wedding itself lasts an hour or so; dinner won't be here for another 5 hours, so now we have to waste time having meaningless banter with meaningless people until we can move on to the next activity.
I agree with Mitchell on this. Thankfully we don't like to sit or talk to strangers on busses etc in Denmark either :)
When I was in Japan, no one spoke on public transport.
It was bliss
I also envy the Japanese for not having to shake hands all the time. When Covid-19 came in I was hoping that bowing as a standard greeting would take off, but sadly it hasn't.
Yes! Bin it and get books out! This is why I have reading parties: come over, read your books, read my books, feel no obligation to carry on a conversation.
And we all can thank smartphone for making it easier than ever for us not to talk to each other o public transport.
The thing is before I just accepted that British folk are just like that, I was at peace with it. Then BAM everyones got their face stuck into a phone & now I think rude bastards, even though it is essentially the same as before!
Why do you need strangers to talk to you? Why does that outweigh their need to be left alone?
@@helphelpimbeingrepressed9347 You need to learn to be happy with yourself.
@@ThreadBomb Thank you, you're right. I just want...I just WANT TO BE LOVED!!! WILL YOU LOVE ME THREAD BOMB...OH GOD SAY YES PLEASE!!!!
David's knowledge of English is just remarkable. I love listening to him.
Well, he has been speaking it for some time.
You should hear his Swahili.
"Hold down the fort"
David Mitchell: "NO!"
"Hold down a job"
David Mitchell: "Of course"
A job is an ephemeral thing that could blow away like the wind. A fort is not.
@@jessicalee333 I'm pretty sure there are examples of wind erosion upon ancient forts.
@@kcapkcans And holding it down would prevent that?
@@countertopconfessions9975 depends on your holding method
Those bouncy castles definitely need some watching.
Why am I being bombarded with the Harribo advert on every TH-cam video I go on today? Fucking Google! (shakes fist in anger)
They call it "adblock". You're welcome.
Because Harribo is so fucking good!
I love that you said it's a wonderful thing, I had a feeling I was going to agree with the video entirely anyway :) Also, when you said that your friends are able to 'tolerate' your company :) I feel that way too, my friends are great but I don't see them everyday because I annoy myself and it's nice enough of them to spend time with me anyway :)
Sure, but its greatly exaggerated for comic effect. I always get the feeling he's making fun of himself and the odd little thoughts that occasionally pass through everybody's mind.
"If only we could expand this enlightened attitude to social occasions." HEAR, HEAR!
I just envisioned David's wedding reception, and all the tables are separated by office cubicle partitions...
Haha, I think it's more of a London thing.
And here we diverge. I want to be Oliver Tambo shaking hands with Norse farmers. I want to be Hans Blix breaking bread with the gauchos of Argentina. I want to know what Edna from accounting does for fun on her weekends. I want to crack open even the most boring of nuts and feast on the information inside. Give me a room full of strangers and, whoever they are, I'll come away with a world of new ideas.
You monster.
I fucking hate you.
Good for you. But has it ever occurred to you that maybe Edna from accounting just wants a few minutes to herself before work and your getting in her nerves? Lol.
I got a job by chatting to a woman on the bus who I didn't know...
That's fantastic!
Easy, don't go to parties or dinners and the whole problem never arises.
Public Transport occasionally forces you to.
But it's fun to go to parties with your friends.
"Hold down a job"? Mr Mitchell, would our jobs simply float away if we were not to go to them?
I point you toward your own video in which you speak of the inaccuracies of "Holding down the fort"
Thank you for your consideration
Except that 'holding down a job' is an accepted and commonly used phrase, as opposed to 'holding down the fort', which is not.
But 'holding down the fort' is an accepted phrase on the U.S. side of the pond.
thats cuz us mericns r retarded
+RustyNuts speak for your self there sir. you as a human being may be slow. but please do not impose your disability upon all those I'm this country
+Austyn Howard Poe's law in action.
In my experience, the strangers that always want to talk to me on public transportation tend to be a bit off. The last stranger I talked to claimed that a habitable planet was discovered by astronomers, which orbited a star that was in a constellation that looked like a cross. He was also very curious about my opinion on the possibility of alien life, and if I thought that Jesus might have visited other star systems.
Suffice it to say, the conversation was awkward.
At least it wasn't politics.
One purpose of splitting up people during dinners might be to prevent cliques from forming, which would defeat the purpose of a dinner to begin with.
I think it's quite nice recognising people now and again due to you talking to them on the bus. It gives a nice sense of community which no longer exists in the 21st centaury.
Anti-social means wanting to watch the world burn. Asocial means not being terribly interested in social behavior.
THANK YOU FOR MAKING THIS! Oh god, I hate talking to strangers
Hold Down a job? So its just not ok to say that about forts? ;)
+iamverita well you are actually trying to prevent the job from escaping, not just inhabiting it.
LOL (which David Mitchell approves me of also saying)
This is why I love my local hairdresser. I can have my hair done in complete and the most British of silence with no one bothering me and allowing my mind to wander elsewhere. In any other place I'm goaded into unnecessary conversation with the person there. I'm here for a service, and nothing more. Wanna talk? Leave it for the pub because it's no use anywhere else, and it's always not appropriate to the situation.
David Mitchell for Prime Minister, Arch Bishop of Canterbury or Chief Wizard or something like that.
You don't walk into a restaurant, approach every table, and yuk it up with all the patrons, so why do it anywhere else? I'm from the Southern Untied States, born and raised, but I'm also an introvert, which means that I want nothing to do with you. Small talk is a waste of time (I don't know you, so I don't want to hear it, anyway), greetings are deceitful, and there's no reason for us to even acknowledge each other's existence merely because our paths have crossed. In this regard, I tend to think of myself as a country boy with a city kid mentality. I have no qualm with being kind, but nice? Fuck that!
And yet David advocates we shuffle friends around when we turn 40. How does he expect this to work?
I’m from NYC where we thankfully don’t talk to strangers but now I live in Chicago where that obnoxious Midwestern politeness has seeped in, so I constantly have to deal with people on the bus telling me all about how much Chicago has changed
Yeah, I'm from London, but now live in Japan, and that's what I like about both places; The mutual desire not to be disturbed during commutes.
talking to strangers is great love it
Meanwhile in Australia, everyone talks to everyone! As much as I hate obligatory conversational situations, I don't entirely regret some of the stories I've heard. The lovely fellow who was fined in Holland for cartwheeling into and subsequently breaking a shop window was among the funniest I've spoken to.
Worse when you're clearly reading a book and someone starts talking to you anyway, you end up looking like an ass if you keep reading, even though they're the rude one
Did he say "hold down a job" ? What ? Will the job float away if someone is not holding it down ? See what I did there ? ;)
Even having in reality the absolutely opposite opinion, I'm still laughing. This guy is a reeeally great comedian!
As someone with Asperger's syndrome, i unconditionally agree with Mr.Mitchell on this point. Convocation with random strangers is not only a dull and rather pointless exerciser, but needlessly forced upon us by the expectations of society. I personally find it entirely uncomfortable to talk to anyone i haven't invested time in getting to know, and only then is it through situations when i'm forced to get to know them like at work or family. What's wrong with good old fashioned silence.
I love icecream.
If most people were introverted, this planet would be a utopia. Not one nightclub would be seen, instead there would be a library on ever corner. There would probably be a few on Mars too.
Talk to people all the time on the bus up here, usually after the pubs have kicked out and everyone is going home. Never ends in "friends" but you have a good chuckle any way.
In nature many animals, including us, have evolved to have a motive to create and live in groups with other people. When people have a weaker motive to do this, it is technically a fault.
Regardless of whether or not it is right, we live in a world where being an extrovert is rewarded, and in general, extroverts will find it easier to thrive. Introversion is a healthy personality type, just not as healthy as extroversion.
- an introvert
I approve breaking with conventions of forced interactions but my life is enriched by being open towards strangers from time to time.
David Mitchell is my spirit animal
That seals it, I'm learning Finnish and emigrating.
I think it's just that David's friends don't tolerate him as much as he thinks they do and request to be seated elsewhere.
It's annoying how friendly the people are.
This is why I like my kindle. If I'm reading an ordinary book then someone may see the cover, and having read it themselves think it's perfectly ok to talk to me about it. Technology can bring us together or keep someone at arms length :)
as a wise man once said
'wise men talk because they have something to say, fools talk because they have to say something'
Makes you a fool.
I agree with the point about dinner parties, I want to sit next to people I know I like, however I disagree about the not talking with strangers. I wish we did that more as some of the most rewarding moments I’ve experienced have come from chatting with someone I had never met before
As an italian who has lived in England for some years, I have to concur. I enjoyed the privacy I could get in London.
I like it when he seems angry.
i find it hard enough just to talk to people i know. i went to visit my grandad is hospital yesterday. even after the conversation was exhausted and i was looking around the room for topical inspiration, It seems wrong to look at your watch and said "oh look i have to go!" I sat there way after the visiting hours and none of the nurses had the common decency to tell me to go away!
i dont mind getting spoken to by people randomly when out and about, well not all the time. while i never go up to and talk to people i do talk back to them when they talk to me. i know im not going to make any friends out of it, and i dont want too. the friends i have are enough. sometimes its nice to talking to people who come up to me, other times its not
Test you say...
1. Zeitgeist... "Interesting, hmm, go on. What?! Don't be daft. Oh bullshit"
2. 'The Powers That Be'... although I did have to google that to be sure.
3. Is that a new kind of chocolate? Well I like Mars Bars so... yes, why not.
So, did I win?
Is there actually a place anywhere in the world where people chat with strangers on public transport? They certainly don't here in NYC. Eye contact is discouraged, as well.
Also, what is going on with the facial hair right now? Does it seem thinner? Is he trying something?
The last time a stranger talked to me for no reason, was a christian crazy person telling me that "jesus loved me and god had a plan for me, and there is HOPE". Extremely discomforting and actually frightening
Every time I see that it's written by David Mitchell and John Finnemore I always immediately imagine Mitchell's character shouting "FINNEMOOOOORE!"
All I'm going to say is that it is not British people who won't chat to strangers, it's just rude southerners who are just as arrogant enough to think they represent all British people as they are for there disdain of other people.
As a Yank, I can't make any more apologies for our language than you can for yours. It's the way it works out. But perhaps, I could say this. How we express ourselves is spread out over 3,000 miles. Our speech, is controlled by region and even perhaps neighborhood. So you can't apply "hot dogs" to all Americans. Some call them "franks". Some call them "sausages". There must most certainly be more. LOL but hot dogs, I think relates back to dogs that look like frankfurters. :-)
Wait, there are people who actually make a conscious effort to bother others during their commute? Are they mad?
Agree nearly 95% of the time but had 2 incidents in the last week that keep me from completely agreeing. Incident 1: a somewhat nervous checker in a grocery store noticed the snack food I was buying and commented that she liked something similar. We got into a short but pleasant chat about our favorite snacks. Incident 2: a lady walking a dog suddenly put tension on the lead and her dog started to get aggressive. I figured it might be a good idea to help her socialize the dog to strangers. I knelt down and extended my hand, and the dog (and lady) became quite friendly. We chatted a bit about our Irish ancestry (something she revealed in an off-hand remark).
I am not all that socially adept, but I make it a point to size up the situation before I engage with strangers, but more importantly, I don't continue a conversation when it has strayed into the inconsequential. Many people don't know when to just shut up.
I realized young (80s) that if you don't talk to strangers, you don't have many friends. There's risks, of course, but it's self defeating. Avoiding people, because you might get made fun of, or possibly kidnapped, tortured to death, and dumped in a ditch. Okay, there's other ways to avoid that last one, other than cutting yourself off from anyone you might get to know. If you're an introvert, be an introvert. That doesn't really require much rationalization.
People should keep quite on public transportation. A couple weeks ago, I had to stop for gas in New Jersey, a state which does not allow you to pump your own gas - a gas station attendant does that for you, because apparently they need to find sinecures for the otherwise unemployable or something. Anyway, this cretin had apparently just learned about some Kennedy conspiracy theories, and felt the need to regale me with these conspiracy theories as my tank filled. And I drive a full sized pickup truck with a 26 gallon tank. And I was on empty. And this clown had never even heard of Lee Harvey Oswald. The whole thing was excruciating.
Things sure have changed in the last ten years. With the adoption of the smartphone, you don't see anyone conversing with strangers anymore. While I never partook myself, I did enjoy some of the conversations I'd overhear between strangers. Now the only thing you might hear in a public space is an old person with an iPhone listening loudly to a politically biased "news" rant because they don't know how to pair their bluetooth earphones with their phone.
Also, what kind of psychotic dinner parties was David going to where they had _assigned_ seating?
Very funny and good points, but still a little bit narrow minded. You don't HAVE to talk to someone on the bus/train all the time once you have started, even if you're a match or not. It's okay to share silence too. If I meet someone new, I don't force myself to talk to the person if it happens that he/she is not my friend-type. And you don't HAVE to strike a conversation if you're tired. Whatever the reason , just say that you're not interested in talking with strangers or talking right now. It's not awkward to share silence, and it's not awkward to meet someone who're not exactly your match. As for the small chance of getting a new friend, it IS hard to get new friends, and that's just how it is. Take chances, and if it fails just respect that, be quiet and try again with someone else another time. If I was new in town and never tried to expand my network apart from my coworkers, then I'd be a pretty lonely guy.
I don’t want to talk to strangers but regardless the country I’m in people talk to me. I’m in the English section of a Japanese book store in Tokyo and a man comes over to me and asks if he can buy me a coffee and talk. He was from the Netherlands and away from his family for weeks and was desperate to talk to someone who wasn’t Japanese. As the cafe was open and in the bookstore and I felt sorry for him I agreed. Honestly he went on about his kids and wife and showed me pictures on his phone. He was so homesick. An Australian man chatted with me in security as it was taking forever as usual. My husband asks me if he was a friend. No, just met him. I don’t mind those interactions I suppose, but it’s the people who tell me intimate details that no one, sans your physician, wants to here. I’m a people person, but not as I seek out people, I just seem to attract them.
That's one thing I hate about living in America. All the small talk. People try and make small talk at urinals. URINALS! U R I N A L S!
Chatting with strangers is only an unrewarding chore BECAUSE we're so repressed, and it's all about smalltalk instead of what we want to talk about. We'd all be less self-concious, have healther and more independant, creative thoughts, and feel less pressure to present a front if we weren't so repressed. Casually talking with anyone - not only strangers - would be a very different experience if we weren't all uptight and socially over-conditioned. Infact, we'd feel LESS pressure to small-talk.
@1:03 "I've invested time and energy into finding people whose company I enjoy". Yes, and it's a process that involves talking to strangers.
David. I come from a different country. Its called the North. A smile elicits a returning smile or sometimes a 'nice day'. Occasionally it involves stopping for a few minutes to chat to someone
You may be the only person to smile or chat or listen to them all day. Especially if they are old.
i love talking to strangers.
The real tell was triangulation, the signal being beamed back from the moon was able to be picked up world wide. But only whilst your part of the world was facing the moon, which is why the actual moon landing had to be picked up by an Australian observatory as North America was on the wrong side of the earth at the time of the landing.
I took the crosstown bus to my job in Manhattan for a couple of years and rarely made the trip without engaging in conversation. It was never forced, and I met many interesting people.
Ja, I don't like it when I'm waiting in line, on the bus, or just anywhere and someone who seems irrelevant attempts to start a conversation with you. Some of my friends handle that really well and end up having a fun talk. I personally find it extremely awkward and would rather be left alone. But no.
Depends on the strangers, if they are nice, interesting,- nothing wrong with talking to them. If they are a drunk, got a knife... have to say I will pass. My husband being Welsh is comfortable talking to Anyone- not a gene a possess but he does in spades. Must have that reserved English in me..
but if you don't talk to stranger (not your normal click) you will never know about new and different things, it nice to talk to a stranger because if you don't like him/her you wont have to she them ever again,,,
but i'm a hitch hiker and I wrote 2 books about strangest of stranger
I lived a long while in Brazil... it's the exact opposite there at least it was for me. I had meals with complete strangers every day. I felt like saying no would be rude and had to have at least two helpings. I was so full all the damn time.
Hm! This is from ~8 years ago. A time when society didn't readily understand or accept introversion. Yay progress!
Thank you! Jesus. A voice of reason. Those people who assume that are just selfish, self-centered and probably sadistic, since they don't really care about the other person, and is just using them for conversation. Horrible, these kinds of people.
I honestly have had many good conversations on Public Transport. I find that we british require a spark to get a conversation going, which I've always found perfectly normal. We don't not talk on public transport, we just don't babble.