Silence is quickly becoming a lost cause to pursue in everyday life. When quiet graces a room, someone must ask the inevitable question: "why is it so quiet in here?" To which I would reply by asking them something else: "why shouldn't it be quiet in here?"

Silence is something that should be embraced when it happens, not pushed away. We are losing touch with our social skills, as we become accustomed to staring at a screen every other minute, and pressing buttons in order to communicate with our loved ones. We constantly crave that attention from our friends and family, so much so that we cannot stand to be alone for more than five minutes at a time. The art of being quiet is becoming lost to many people, especially this next up and coming generation of kids.

If you stop for just a moment and take a look around, how many people do you see carrying their phones around? Typing away on their computers or laptops? It is sad, but true, that we are glued to the technology that we own. I believe we feel some sort of fulfillment from knowing that we have the power to connect to whoever we want to, whenever we want to. It only takes about a minute or so to send a quick text to someone, and then wait around for them to respond. The best part is, is that we don't even have to be next to the person we are speaking to anymore.

I believe that is what is really throwing people off, nowadays. I even admit that I am guilty of mostly relying on technology to communicate with friends, but I still make an attempt to actually speak with them when I can. Face-to-face, in the flesh communication, not just through a phone, or Skype. I prefer being able to actually see what is going on with them, as we are speaking; being in the same area, preferably. I can more easily tell when it is my turn to speak, and vice versa.

It is a dangerous game we are playing, by becoming so reliant on this new wave of technology. It is just one of those necessary evils in our world, and I do not see us trying to get rid of it any time soon. As we are learning to speak through screens, we are losing vital social skills we need when we are confronted with a real life situation. Being able to read the expressions of the person speaking to you, and knowing who's turn it is to talk are extremely important skills we need to be successful in life. I think we should all take some time out of our day - an hour, at least - to just meet up with a friend, and spend quality time with them. The bonds you form with them will be so much more stronger, rather than if you just send them a wall of text to skim over all the time.