If you’re feeling a little bit rusty in social situations, you’re not the only one. The pandemic has left many confined to our own social bubbles to the point you don’t really know how to interact with people face to face.
I can heartily understand social anxiety and have come up with a simple game plan to help you get back into casual communication without your nerves getting the best of you. Of course, you should have some prepared answers to questions like ‘What have you been up to?’ – even the simplest of questions can draw blank stares.
But you should also have some knowledge about what’s going on in the world. I’ve chosen some easy starter topics that have a broad enough appeal.
What are some of the most Interesting Topics Society Talks about?
Technology
Technology is always a good place to start, even if it’s just to know about a long anticipated tech product release that has everyone talking about. But as a whole technological innovations are on everyone’s mind especially with the current rise in cryptocurrency and NFTs (I personally have been in many conversations about NFTs without anyone fully understanding the concept.). So that is something to keep in mind.
Of course, there can be more serious topics like the shortage in precious minerals and metals that are used in the making of chips. That’s a good topic for when you want to slant the conversation into world politics.
Business
Business is another of-the-moment topic, which ties very well with the national and international political situation. Unionising, strikes, business policies and investment opportunities. Those are only some of the stepping stones at your disposal to get a good conversation going.
Science
Similar to business and technology, science as a category branches into multiple directions and is a gift that keeps on giving. Perhaps you have a thing for astronomy – then you can definitely look into the James Webb Deep Space Telescope, which conveniently has a site with live updates.
Of course, there’s the subject on everyone’s mind: COVID-19. With new vaccines in development and the Omicron variant creating waves in scientific circles, there’s a lot to dig in there. But most people have some fatigue surrounding the virus, so you might want to get into more neutral waters.
Creative
Creative pursuits are a good, neutral starting point. They create a low-stakes environment where you can more comfortably get to know other people. Baking, gardening, creative pursuits like art, sewing and writing are fun and light.
Of course, there is a lot of news surrounding the creative field. Are you a movie buff? What are some of the new productions you’re excited about? Or the new technologies being made available for movie making and animation?
Lifestyle
The pandemic has ultimately altered how we spend our time and exist in the day-to-day. What do you do with all that added stress? What are low-cost ways to bring wellness into your life? If you’ve ever had some areas of interest that are safe and don’t lead to immediate arguments (even discussing movies can spark up passions), lifestyle topics are the most inoffensive conversation starters.
For bonus points, bring up some memes. Everyone loves memes, but definitely don’t overdo it. Memes are best used sparsely and in the right moment.
How to choose relevant sources?
Books and Journals
Are you a reader? Now is the time to bring your reading list to the rescue in social situations – this is especially useful, if you’re a non-fiction kind of person. There are always good ideas in books on science, human behaviour, technology and even history.
Sure, learning something from the Internet is good but hardly as impressive. Books on the other hand are great sources for conversation in themselves – what do you read, favourite books, who is the author, are they in the news. By simply relaxing into the topic, the conversation can smoothly take off in new directions. Plus, books are a great ice breaker with strangers.
RSS Feed Reader
RSS feed readers have been made for this task! Researchers, writers and students rely heavily on RSS feed readers to stay well-informed and deep dive into their area of interest. They’re optimized fully to save your time every step of the way through custom search and incredible automation.
Even better, today’s crop of readers has moved into content recommendation. No matter what interests you in the world, you can find a source in a reader’s database. A prime example is Inoreader, which is one of the most popular readers. Inoreader makes content discovery effortless. There’s already a special area for discovery, where topics like business and lifestyle have their own areas with sub-topics and recommendations of the most popular feeds.
Feeds are recommended based on the number of subscribers, so you know the site has been tried and tested before. Inoreader even has a collections section with previously curated feeds on a given subject. RSS feed readers are useful even when you just want to skim titles and have some idea of what’s happening to casually reference into a conversation.
Trusted Web Pages
Because RSS relies on you to add feeds to your subscriptions (in instances where you’re not quite satisfied with what’s recommended to you), it’s also important to consider whether you can trust the information you receive in the first place.
This is the era of disinformation. Caution is required and the first step of media literacy is to think about whether what you’re reading is correct or not. Question your source especially when it says something that you agree 100% with – that’s how disinformation works; by appealing to our own established biases.
There are ways to check if a source is trustworthy. Usually a domain name is a good indicator and how articles are written. Do the articles use specific names and statistics? If they do, then do they link to other sources? You get the idea.