06/18/2025

Three Ways to Have More Meaningful Conversations

True dialogue can restore meaningful interaction

It's common to moan about the eroding effects of technology. I won't win any originality prizes for saying social media, smartphones and short-form video content have been somewhat corrosive to our collective psychology.

One thing I often think about is what daily life looked like before modern technology. I don't just mean before the internet and iPhones—I mean before TVs, radios and even the lightbulb. What did people do in households by the light of a single tallow candle? What did they do in the ancient world before distraction technology?

They had better conversations. They told more stories. An experienced thespian would enthrall the room with a tale. The seanchaí, griot or ashik would pass down the lore to new generations and new ears. But also, people would have had more important conversations — about philosophy, religion and mythology. They would have been psychoanalytic millennia before Freud met his mother.

Please select this link to read the complete article from Big Think.