So often I find myself answering the question “How have you been?” with the reply “Busy!” Is it because I don’t feel like providing a more detailed explanation? Is it because this answer is expected? Or am I really that busy?

A recent article by Hamber (http://www.polity.org.za/article/lessons-for-combating-stress-2011-01-28) discusses this further by focusing on how we’re too ‘busy being busy.’ This article really struck a chord with me, making me think about the rhetoric of busyness and how it is such an overwhelming topic in our everyday conversation.

It would be interesting to investigate this in some type of rhetorical conversation analysis. I wonder when this ‘busy’ answer is most provided in conversation (in business/acquaintance/intimate relationships), what kind of information about one’s life follows this statement (do people elaborate, complain, etc.), and whether it occurs in attempts to emphasize some type of class or power structure in society.