According to Kundera, it started in London then spread to Paris, then on to Vienna, Prague, Budapest, Belgrade, and Istanbul.
Kundera thought it odd that an entire species would desert the natural word for the unnatural world.

Yes the person you're listening to may prattle on about nothing important. That's not the important part.
The important part is that you're listening. Someone else cares about them. Someone gives a damn. How amazing.

It has taken many years to turn common sense into nonsense. The long struggle is now over. Isn’t nasty reality really much more worth the attention of the serious artist? Celebration of beauty, truth, and goodness is so, “yesterday”.