You're mid-sentence explaining why you've decided to quit your job, and they're nodding while their eyes move in that precise pattern—down to screen, thumb scroll, tiny laugh at something you'll never know. You finish with "so I'm moving to Portugal," and they go, "That's cool, bro," still holding the phone at chin height like it's a surgical mask they forgot to remove. At that point you realize you're not talking to a person anymore; you're a podcast they're half-listening to while browsing for better podcasts.