I'm one of those few people who don't have a smartphone (by choice) so I observe this behavior a lot because I'm often looking forward instead of down at a phon

I'm one of those few people who don't have a smartphone (by choice) so I observe this behavior a lot because I'm often looking forward instead of down at a phone. But, check this out... Everyone misses that. All you have to do is initiate the conversation. A few days ago I had a 30 minute discussion with a random dude on Swedish death metal bands because he happened to be playing a song from a band I know while I walked past his house. I've been walking for 5 years and this hasn't happened once, so I had stop and say something. Every time I take the 90min train ride into the city I usually end up talking to someone for most of the way. I'm not a good conversationalist either or some super extroverted person. I'm just bored sitting on the train, and other people are too (even if they are flipping through their twitter feed). It's prime pickings to start conversations because everyone is so deprived of it.