The Sound of Silence

Happy Friday Friends,

Zombies walking,Staring.Tiny glances, no one caring.Chain smoking,Sad faces, wrinkles.Souls dragging.Walking,On the treadmill with no time cap.Daily. Weekly. Forever.

Yes, that is my attempt at poetry. No, I don’t write poetry, ever, but the words came to me when I sat down to journal my thoughts for this newsletter. I’ll explain as you continue reading.

Do we live in a world where most people’s default state is average to unhappy? Walking to work this morning I noticed how many people look so unhappy. And it’s a Friday.

Droves of people walking in lines an army drill sergeant would be proud of. Following each other like sheep. The destination in their heads is the same even though the physical destination is different. Do they even realise they look unhappy? Do I?

We are more connected now than we’ve ever been in the history of humankind. Yet, I see so many people alone.Walking alone.Listening alone.Talking alone.

I’ve made a conscious effort in the mornings when I walk to work to not have my headphones on. Why? Well because I have dedicated times in my day when I’m listening to audiobooks or podcasts. I have information flowing at my brain from reading and listening. And no, that’s not a typo; the information is not flowing into my brain, it’s flowing at my brain. Because, in reality, it’s impossible to absorb everything I’m trying to cram into it.

So, I decided on short walks like from the car to my office. Or my 10-minute after-lunch walk, I do not need music, books, or a talking head in my ears. I can listen to the cars, the people and the world around me.

The thing is, I see lots of people but I don’t hear any. This morning I saw a perfect example. I saw a group of school girls walking together to the bus. They were clearly all friends. They all had earpods in one or both ears and phones out in front of them. Every one of them had a phone in their hands. I saw one girl point and show her friend something on the phone but they did not speak.

This makes me sad.

I have emigrated twice, leaving friends behind in previous lives. I know how hard it is to make friends as you get older and how few moments you get to spend with friends when you have a family. I envy my teenage self for the constant banter and endless laughs.

I saw these girls and I was sad for them.

I am sure they wouldn’t agree but I wanted to tell them how lucky they are to have a group of friends to walk and talk with. I wanted to tell them to take out their earpods for 10 minutes and use their ears to listen to their friends. Rather than listening to a half-real TikTok personality sprouting trash to sell them a product. I wanted to tell them they’re getting so little value from that experience when ALL the value is right there, linking arms with them.

Yes. I realise this all makes me sound old and anti-technology.

I’m not anti-tech. In fact, I love technology. I’ve built my career around tech and I am plugged into tech 16 hours a day. All I’m saying is that we’re missing human connection.I work in an office but hardly see my team. I am all for flexible work, it benefits me and it benefits the company in many ways. But, I do miss learning via osmosis and hearing about what people have planned for their weekend.I remember a time when you’d mess around in an office and talk shit and laugh. You’d "waste" time. But, that wasted time though is so valuable. You’re building relationships and human connection. Those bonds with colleagues build a culture that flows down to your customers and improves the business.

Is there anything I or, we can do about this situation? The complicated answer is no. We cannot reverse this path. In fact, it’s most likely going to get worse. We’re only a decade or two away from physically plugging into our devices. Just ask Elon and Neuralink.

People talk about scary AI robots taking over the world and destroying humans. We’re not building robots. We are becoming robots! We’re replacing our human selves with our “improved” cyborg upgrades.

The key things that make us so special as a species are the things we’re slowly going to either systematise or remove completely. We’ll remove the need for human connection and touch. We’ll remove emotions that are "a waste of time and energy".

The product manager in me is fascinated by the technology that’s to come but the human in me is terrified. All I can hope for is that I am no longer here to witness the biggest updates.I also hope my children and their children will still celebrate the “human” aspects of humanity.

I am going to leave you this week with some of the lyrics from The Sound of Silence by Simon and Garfunkle. Written by Paul Simon 1963/64. I heard a dance mix of this song while walking. It’s a great song but I’ve never stopped to listen to the words. I rewound the track and realised it fits as a perfect ending to this week’s commentary.

And in the naked light I saw Ten thousand people, maybe more People talking without speaking People hearing without listening People writing songs that voices never share No one dared Disturb the sound of silence"Fools" said I, "You do not know Silence like a cancer grows Hear my words that I might teach you Take my arms that I might reach you" But my words like silent raindrops fell And echoed in the wells of silenceAnd the people bowed and prayed To the neon god they made And the sign flashed out its warning In the words that it was forming

And the sign said, "The words of the prophetsAre written on the subway wallsAnd tenement hallsAnd whispered in the sounds of silence"

Peace, love and muscles.Jarren

A Shot From My Camera Roll