It is well-known that conversations underlie social connections and contribute meaningfully to well-being, but the kinds of conversations that come to mind when thinking of these benefits are ones about interesting topics. However, people must endure many boring conversations in everyday life. We tested whether conversations about boring topics have hedonic and social benefits, or whether only interesting topics are responsible for them. Six preregistered experiments find that people underestimate their interest, enjoyment, and desire to have future connections after engaging in conversations about boring topics. This happens in virtual and in-person interactions, among friends and strangers, for self-generated and experimenter-provided topics, and holds over consecutive conversations about different topics. This occurs partly because people base their predictions on the topic rather than the level of engagement with another person, which is high even when the topic is boring. Although boring conversations are usually avoided, they can be surprisingly enjoyable.
