The issue is that a lot of small talk is superficial or even dishonest, like the stereotypical question of how you are. Because, no, they don't actually want to hear about your problems. They want you to say "good and you?", and will answer equally dishonest. It's one of my biggest issues with it because I really don't care about talking about things that none of us actually care about. If you don't want to know how I am, don't ask. If you have nothing better to say than moan about the weather (which is almost always either too hot, or too cold, or too rainy, or too snowy, etc), then don't even bother with yapping me up.