SMBC Comics Forum

Link to the comic "Small Talk"

So, all your behavior is oriented around profoundities?
But your online profile said you like binging on bad TV and playing old video games all night long.

Why the "but"? The philosophy of profound things and bad TV series and old video games makes perfect sense to me
I thought he would defend this lifestyle in the following panels instead of being so easily defeated.

The hovertext sounds like ZAch's attempt to reframe a basic character flaw--the subject of his comics--as an interesting personality quirk.

I feel like neither of the characters in this comic have the slightest idea what they're talking about. Not liking small talk is neither a flaw nor somehow a positive. It's a nothing.

A Completely Different Guest wrote:Not liking small talk is neither a flaw nor somehow a positive. It's a nothing.

The flaw isn't "not liking small talk." The flaw is being unable to make small talk (and then trying to hide the fact by pretending one is somehow too good to make small talk).

I think everyone would agree that it's okay not to be a fan of small talk. But in modern society, sometimes small talk is required to break the ice in various situations where one is meeting a new person. If instead of trying to get better at making casual conversation one just complains to everyone how awful small talk is and claims a moral high ground... well, that's the point of the comic.