Talk to strangers!

(Don’t) talk to strangers!

To talk: The act of conversing or communicating by spoken words. Not through Whatsapp, Facebook, Imessage, Twitter or any other platform, but the act of expressing oneself through speech in person. Sounds obsolete and outdated right? It is actually one of the most efficient methods to express feelings and thoughts to other people. But is conversing really that important?

Conversations are rare nowadays. When I go out for dinner with my friends, it amazes me how times have changed (and I am not that old). When we were little, we used to talk so much and share every little detail that happened in our lives with our peers. Now, while I sat on a table with three of my best friends, silence takes over as the three of them are chatting through the phone. It came to a point where I realized they were chatting with each other while sitting in a less than half a meter distance. And it got worse as they took 5 minutes taking pictures of the food instead of eating it right away. Incredible but true, and it happens quite often with teenagers and young adults all around the world. We need to give importance to talking and value conversations more to transmit that to future generations.

Here is an idea: what about talking to the person sitting next to you? Or the man or woman on the counter that will soon serve you food? And what about calling that old good friend you have not seen in years and meet for some coffee? Humans are social by nature, and making friends can be easy as pie with some initiative. And the first step is talking to people, and learning how to transmit your thoughts and feelings on what you are saying. Words can be your biggest ally if you know how to use them right.

Technologies bring closer those who are far away and keep away those who are close. It is the irony of progress, but it can be undone. When we think of why people prefer chatting through their phones or tablets rather than in person, it is because it is more confortable. You can take some time to think what you carefully select to say before sending a message, and what you really feel is masked by an emoticon. But writing «haha 🙂 » does not express the same emotion as watching a person laugh and smile right in front of you. Instead of «whatsapping», calling or meeting in person is the best way to ensure a good communication.

Talking might be scary, impulsive, unpredictable and even addictive, but it surely will make the experience of conversing much better and enjoyable. By taking advantage of conversing, we value more life’s little details, and it will make it all worthy.