Most of the stranger's conversations I ever overheard in the US were about rather common topics, like sports, pop culture, children & schools, etc. What if someone doesn't know much or care about such things, but still wants the "well-documented benefits, such as increased happiness, better health, and stronger sense of belonging"?
I'm new to the US and come from a different culture where the common topics have little in common with what you'd talk to strangers in the US. I'd love to talk about less common topics, like science, tech, AI, philosophy — basically what is being discussed here in HN, but in the real life. Is there a hope for me to become less lonely?