You're mid-sentence about something that actually matters—your voice is steady, you've got the whole thing plotted out—and they nod twice, let out a small "mm-hmm," and their eyes don't move from the screen. So you keep talking, faster now, waiting for the moment they'll realize you've switched to describing your grocery list in the exact tone of voice you'd use to announce a terminal diagnosis. You're three minutes deep into potatoes and milk when they finally look up and ask, "Wait, are you okay?" Yes, you're fine—you're just apparently now a background podcast they've had on for forty minutes.