Priorities

I've always had a shorter fuse for small talk but as I age, it just keeps getting better (or worse!).
I used to give in to people making conversation out of sheer politeness but lately I just ignore messages, stare into thin air or just get up and walk out of the room only because faking a shin cramp is getting old.
Is it really age or is it the fact that life is far busier than ever, the same twenty-four hours are crammed with a lot more things to do, thoughts to think and worries to manage?
I never thought I'd be the one who was rude enough not to respond to personal emails, text messages or any form of communication but I honestly don't know if I mean it that way. Sometimes I do. Others, I prioritise. Something else over this. Opportunity cost. Perhaps the only Econ lesson I held on to from back in the day.
Why is talking absolute crap such a hit? Okay that sounds like the name of a book that'll help me retire but seriously, what's with directionless yammering and bitching each other out?
The family I hail from, invented gossip that makes the electric chair seem like a bed of roses but imagine all that energy, that vigour, rising from a crowd of relentless aunts and bitter uncles, going to absolute waste, right up to the skies. Maybe that's what caused that darn hole in ozone in the first place! And they blame deodorants. At least they save some life form. Like in the shorter haul.
I digress.
So are we too busy now than our forefathers used to be in an average day? Certainly. Is that a bad thing, yeah I don't quite think so. I always say busy is good but I don't just say it, I believe in it too. With absolutely nothing to do, after a day or so (when I'm done sleeping, smelling like last week's socks and breath that works better than your standard pesticide) I need to get back to being busy.