Conversations with Norma…

Are We All Just… Tired of Talking?

I was having a conversation with someone recently.

It started the way most things start these days, a reply to an Instagram story, a small joke, a few easy questions.

“Where are you from?”
“What do you do?”

Nothing awkward. Just… familiar. Almost too familiar.

At some point, I caught myself predicting the conversation before it happened. Not because the person was boring, but because I had heard it all before. The same questions. The same lines. The same polite curiosity that never quite goes anywhere.

And I found myself wondering, when did getting to know people start to feel like a script?

Later that night, I was scrolling through Instagram.

You know how it goes.

People posting engagement rings, baby showers, birthdays… “God when?” tweets scattered in between. And then, almost tucked inside all of that, were people joking about being tired of dating apps. Tired of talking stages. Tired of starting over.

For a second, it felt funny.

Until it didn’t.

Because beneath the jokes, there was something real there.

A lot of people are not bitter.

They’re just… tired.

Tired of introductions that don’t lead anywhere. Tired of explaining their favourite colour like it’s brand new information every time. Tired of conversations that feel good in the moment but disappear without warning.

It’s like emotional déjà vu.

You meet someone, you talk, you open up — just a little — and then something shifts. And somehow, you find yourself back at the beginning again, with someone else.

And the confusing part is…

Nothing dramatic is happening.

No heartbreak.
No betrayal.

Just a quiet cycle of almost.

I started thinking about how strange it is.

We have more access to people than ever before. You can meet someone in seconds, start a conversation instantly, be “connected” without even leaving your room.

But somehow, that hasn’t made connection feel easier.

If anything, it feels… thinner.

Like we’re talking more, but saying less.

And I don’t even know who to blame.

Is it the apps?
Is it the options?
Is it the way we’ve learned to protect ourselves?
Or is it just… where we are in life right now?

I mean…

When you’ve had enough conversations that didn’t go anywhere, you start to hold back. Not intentionally. Just… naturally.

You don’t ask as many questions.
You don’t open up as quickly.
You don’t get your hopes up the way you used to.

You pace yourself.

And maybe the other person is doing the same thing.

So now it’s two careful people having a careful conversation… both trying not to invest too much, not to read too much into anything, not to be the one who cares more.

And somehow, in trying to protect ourselves…

we might also be watering everything down.

I don’t think people are incapable of deep connection.

I just think a lot of people are… fatigued.

Emotionally.
Socially.
Mentally.

Because real connection takes energy.

It takes showing up. Paying attention. Asking better questions. Sitting through the awkward middle before something real begins.

And when you’ve done that a few times with the wrong people… it’s hard to keep showing up the same way.

So now I’m wondering…

Are we actually bad at relationships?

Or are we just tired of starting over?

I don’t have the answer.

I’m still figuring it out too.

But I’m curious.

Do you think dating has become exhausting… or are we just approaching it differently now?