As a society we are less connected than I’ve ever seen in my life. I have noticed some days I go the entire day without speaking a word to another person. The efficiency of smart phones has made it no longer necessary to have face to face interactions. Most tasks can get handled with a few touches from our fingers, and being behind a phone makes it much easier to engage with others who can be hard to talk to. As great as smart phones are by keeping everyone connected online, the disconnect in humans has made the world a scarier, darker place.
I started a new job in July of 2021. The aftermath of Covid was still lingering as the world was figuring out problems like mask or no mask. My job mandated masks for my first six months there, and this is where I noticed the effects of a lack of human interaction. When walking past people in the hallway, I would always be one to acknowledge someone with brief eye contact and a little head nod. After the first two weeks of never being met with eye contact, I understood how things were done here.
When situations would arise where there was no choice but to interact with another person, the issue of hearing what anyone was saying became the next problem. The frustration of asking someone to repeat themselves because of being unable to hear them, due to the mask, made everyone want to keep engagements to a minimum. I always felt…
