The College Conversation

You've all experienced it: those 15-30 second conversations that happen while friends are passing each other on a college campus.

Generally speaking, they go something like this.
[Student 1]: Hey! How's it going?
[Student 2]: Pretty good, how about you?
[Student 1]: Good!

Then they go their separate ways and pretty much forget they spoke to each other that day.

Unless they're actually friends and haven't said anything to each other that day.
[Student 1]: Hey! How's it going?
[Student 2]: Pretty good, how about you?
[Student 1]: Good! How are your classes?
[Student 2]: Fine, except my class with Professor A, he's such a dick! How about yours, any exams?
[Student 1]: Yeah, I have one on Wednesday and a paper due at midnight tomorrow and it has to be like 8 pages and I haven't even started yet.
[Student 2]: That sucks, well I'll talk to you later!

Around the point where Student 2 says "fine" they're no longer able to see each other without walking backwards; but that won't stop them! No. They need to display their close bond by yelling across campus.

What's with this compulsion to speak to everyone we know? Does it make us feel better about ourselves that we know people we see? Do we want the acknowledgment that people know who we are?

Of course, this might be a more local thing- someone once commented on the fact that we here at Concordia actually make eye contact and other campuses don't?

I dunno, I think it's weird.

Actually, I know it's weird- because I come from a family that has one minute phone conversations and I still find it weird.

Anyway, I guess my point is that it amuses me that there is a science to brief conversations that everyone on a college campus knows. I like it.