The Lost Art of Conversation

When you go out with your friends for dinner, or you’re on a date, or you’re with your family, you expect to spend time with them, right? I mean, you’re in their presence for a reason. These are people you actually like; people you’re actually interested in; people you may care about. You’re together, but you also have other guests that always tend to steal the show. Your cellphones.

I was on FaceTime with my nieces a couple of weeks ago, and I was also on my phone at the same time. You know, texting everybody and their mother, and checking every social media site possible; Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Tumblr, hell even my email. Not really paying attention to the two little girls who called just to speak to me. Then I hear the youngest say, “Titi, why are you always on your phone when I call you? Can you do that another time?” This literally broke my heart and I put my phone down immediately after that. I then asked myself, why do I feel the need to be so connected. I’m more in tune with the lives of others than the one I’m actually living (or not so much).

It really caught me off guard, because on the daily I’m such an advocate for putting the phones down. I hate when I’m hanging out with someone, and they spend the entire night checking notifications and text messages. Like, hello?! I’m right here in front of you. A real live person; someone who wants to talk to you and catch up on life. What really stemmed this post was the fact that I ran into someone on my way to class today, and the conversation was awkward city. I was staring directly at him for at least a solid minute and a half while he tried to complete his thought to me and text someone else at the same time. I  ended up just saying “I gotta go, I’m on my way to class” and that was that.

Why has the art of conversation been muddled? Why don’t we know how to talk to each other anymore? Why are encounters that should be natural, so awkward to get through? Why don’t we appreciate the time we have with the people standing right in front of us?

I want to challenge everyone reading this, to try and put the phone down. Call up a friend you haven’t seen in a minute and arrange a dinner for the two (or more, the more the merrier) of you, and just talk. Enjoy each others company. I promise you’ll have the best time. Live in the moment.