I think the casual meeting of people, in class, at most meetings/neighbor situations has to be shallow; no one can very easily start getting to know someone by saying, "Hi there, I've been a mental ward inpatient, how about you?" I think shallow-seeming lives are often a disguise or avoidance technique to keep more difficult things at bay and if we were around those people more, listened to their comments as they watched "American Idol" (I can't stand it), we might find more spots we could connect with. If I have a very immediate/strong reaction and don't like a shallow-seeming person I look harder at myself, see what I'm trying to escape! Often, for me, such feelings are projections, fear I'll be seen as a certain way I don't want to be.