The slow death of conversations that matter

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Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. As a therapist, one of the themes I have been hearing from clients who are largely in the age group of 32 to 80 years is how there seems to be a slow death of conversations that allow for emotional depth.

Clients across gender mention how they feel so empty and disconnected even after meeting close friends. I also have witnessed how the texture of conversations has changed over the years, how often we engage with strangers has also shifted.

The dwindling attention span that people bring to conversations as their attention keeps shifting due to the ongoing notifications on their devices makes connection harder. Often at airports, doctor’s clinic I see people staring into their phones, not maintaining eye contact with co-passengers or even smiling at another patient waiting for a doctor’s phone.

I feel saddened when I see family members at a restaurant not talking to each other and being buried into their separate phones. It feels like a loss, I often wonder how many stories, experiences never got articulated or were lost because we didn’t create a shared space where conversations should take shape As a therapist and someone who enjoys knowing people, I do see travel or even a visit to the market as an opportunity for conversations which can turn out to be meaningful, a window for connection and even healing in ways we can’t even imagine.

I enjoy micro-interactions whether it’s with the vegetable vendor, a stranger who’s looking for directions to a store, a child sheepishly smiling and being happy as he/she walks with their parent. These are such precious moments, even though they may last for few seconds they evoke warmth, sometimes a shifting of mood, possibilities for eye contact and