<p>Actually, yes, NSM, I was taught that it was rude to ask adults (e.g. my parents’ friends) about themselves. My parents are older and I was the only young child in their group; I was expected to entertain myself and stay out of everyone’s way, and if I appeared in the conversation I was reprimanded or shooed away–“this isn’t for your ears,” etc. I think this is the case for a lot of kids, and then when you grow up it’s a little confusing that it suddenly becomes ok to talk to these people! </p>
<p>I think your view on young adults is misplaced. Certainly we are very self-centered, but it’s not as though I would spend an entire evening in a room full of adults saying absolutely nothing unless I was asked a personal question. Do you really know college students who do this? At a Christmas Eve party, the conversation is going to touch upon politics, grandchildren, who’s renovating their house, travel plans, etc. Of course I am going to politely and happily ask our guests about those things. But, as several parents pointed out above, it’s natural for people to wonder about my post-graduation plans, and that conversation can quickly devolve into questions that are just plain prying and judgmental. One parent pointed out the importance of figuring out if somene really cares about you or if they’re just prying, and I think that’s a great point. My post was about how to kindly change the subject from one that is going to make me anxious and possibly cause a lot of problems, to something that everyone can be happy with; and if you’ve grown up not being included in these adult conversations, yes, responding with “Thanks for asking–and how’s your business doing?” can indeed feel pretty weird.</p>