The articles in this paper sound an awful lot like letters to the editor: Trite complaints about non-issues and "old man's worries" about the kids today. With

The articles in this paper sound an awful lot like letters to the editor: Trite complaints about non-issues and "old man's worries" about the kids today. With the conversation article itself, the complaints he raises are overblown even looking back at it now. I've lived in many countries and traveled to many more, and one thing I've always taken note of is how and when people hold conversations: it depends almost entirely upon local culture. You're much more likely to have conversations with strangers in the countryside than in the city. You're FAR more likely to have a conversation with random Portuguese than with random Germans. Traveling Japanese are far more interesting and open than Japanese at home, whereas the opposite could be said of the British. The Vietnamese keep to themselves whereas Cambodians are happy to meet strange people. People are far more friendly in Lyon than in Paris. San Franciscans are far more likely to talk at you than with you (even vs just across the bay in Oakland).