I have noticed in social circles that skew heavily Western that a large majority of small talk revolves around media consumption, whether it's recounting TV epi

I have noticed in social circles that skew heavily Western that a large majority of small talk revolves around media consumption, whether it's recounting TV episodes, quoting movies, meme-ing Spongebob, etc. There's a lot of factors to blame for our feelings of isolation. I tend to look toward the fortress-ing of private homes and the sprawl of suburban developments, which encourage seeking enjoyment through pseudo-socialization with the characters on your screen. Parasocial relationships were a thing long before Twitch and OnlyFans, only people were attaching to fictional characters so the effect wasn't quite as pronounced until actual humans became the objects of consumption (see: Disney adults, MCU ultrafans, etc.). This probably has to do with isolation from social groups as you describe, particularly as people in general lost community centers such as churches due to the sprawl and pace of modern life.