09/09/2026
Times have changed considerably.
Ten years ago, communication required more effort, yet people often seemed to engage more meaningfully. Homeowners called simply to talk, wrote handwritten thank-you notes, and followed up with us a year later—not because they needed anything, but because they remembered us and wanted to know how we were doing.
Today, communication requires very little effort. We carry immediate access to hundreds of people in our pockets. We can see what someone had for dinner, where they traveled, and what they thought about a stranger’s video. Yet responding to a friend, returning a phone call, or simply asking, “How have you been?” can feel like an undue burden.
We have never been more technologically connected, and perhaps we have never been more personally disconnected.
Ten years ago, maintaining relationships required effort, so people made that effort.
Today, staying in touch takes only seconds, yet we often fail to give one another even that.
This may be the greatest irony of modern communication: we have made it easier than ever to reach one another while making it increasingly common to feel alone.
