Small talk as we know it, is going out of style these days. Conversations among my friends and family about the weather, sports, grandkids happening, and community events have all evaporated with the storm that brought Coronavirus to our world. In the place of the familiar form of small talk, has come Corona small talk. Now we shmooze about Corona.

Since social distancing began, our family has had a weekly Zoom meeting with our children and grandchildren. I realized that these new themes seem to repeat themselves. Sometimes they evolve to the next level and we pick up where we left off the past Sunday. “So what happened in your city lately? What stores have opened up for curbside selling?” New vocabulary emerges through all this, and I am convinced that my toddler grandchildren are absorbing valuable language for their futures.

In other words, it’s the new normal for small talk. Small talk – in general – about the weather, sports, and other mundane matters – is an important part of social engagement. It’s defined as polite conversation about unimportant things. The same holds true for Corona-small talk.

While Coronavirus is an important topic, much of the conversations we have about the virus are usually banter and unimportant. We go back and forth, argue, debate, share, and then come to the conclusion that “we really don’t know anything, because it’s all so new.” At the end of the day, we’ve bonded over the conversation, and the tension (hopefully) has lessened because we talked it out.

Instead of talking about the weather, we talk about the fact (or hope) that when the weather warms up, the virus will dissipate. We talk about the a/c or heating since we’re both at home together all day, and we don’t always agree on the thermostat setting. Weather is a very important Corona topic.

Rather than talking about sports, we talk about when the baseball season will open and will the games be played to an empty stadium? And how can they play without physical contact? So sports small talk takes place – with Corona adjustment.

We love chatting with our grandkids about their studies. But these days, that’s shifted. Instead of asking our grandkids what they’re learning in school, we talk about how they manage to learn via technology. They explain to us their schedule, and how their school evolved from phone conferencing to each child having their own Ipad for Zooming. If one or two of them can’t come to the Zoom meeting, their mom explains that they’re in their bedroom attending a class. We don’t even get to what they’re learning – math? English? History? It’s all about technology.

Adult coversations no longer revolve around the news of community events. That small talk is soo 2019. These days we talk about more important stuff – like which synagogue is starting to gather in small groups of 10 in backyards, and when that will happen. Other spinoffs of these topics are which cities and countries in our world have already progressed to backyard gatherings of a minimum quorum of 10 men. With social distancing of course, and appropriate PPE such as masks. But then again, some locations have already graduated to indoor gatherings. We are happy for our fellow humans living in those cities who have advanced to those stages, and respond to these tidbits of information with “wow, that’s interesting.” Which always fits in any small talk conversation. Validation. Interest.

Finally, there’s the small talk of who in our family has tested positive or negative for antibodies, who has tested positive or negative for COVID-19, and all the fears or non-fears surrounding the various status of each member. This small talk invariably stretches to the opinions of each person. Some think the extra caution of wearing masks, gloves and so forth is overdone and not warranted. And others chime in with how important these measures are and one needs to be careful for fear of the virus taking hold again in our community G-d forbid. But, it all starts with small talk.

Meantime, the babies bounce around on their parents’ laps, absorbing into their psyches words like plasma, positive, COVID, quarantine, and so many others. These are important words for their vocabulary. Small talk – any pleasant talk – is beneficial to babies too.

For now, Corona small talk keeps us connected, relaxed, and stimulated. It’s light and it’s socially acceptable. Small talk – the old way and the new way – helps us break into conversation, and bonds us together. And that is always a good thing.

Image credit: Unsplash (William Navarro)