Yeah, when someone asks about you research as a casual conversation they're only looking for extremely high level summaries. Something like "I research plant metabolism."
I could see how a conversation could go very sideways if you're responding to "oh what do you research?" with details that are "in the weeds."
Yes, if you do a monologue, it's likely just plain boring even to someone curious anyway. The same info given in a interactive manner is likely more enjoyable to everyone involved.
This reminds me of a time when I asked someone where they lived and they started giving me detailed directions to their house. The context of the conversation and our relationship made me expect a town name or maybe neighborhood. The unexpected over-sharing made me get really uncomfortable and I thought of a reason to end the conversation immediately.
I could see how a conversation could go very sideways if you're responding to "oh what do you research?" with details that are "in the weeds."