One day, in our college, the professor entered the classroom and looked around in silence. After some time she smiled and asked, ‘Don’t you all talk to each other anymore? Everyone is busy using their phones.” The classroom remained silent. Noone had an answer. That incident stayed in my mind for a long time because it reflected the reality of today’s generation. Even when surrounded by people we are constantly connected to our screens instead of each other. Phones have slowly become our permanent companions. From the moment we wake up till the moment we sleep, screens occupy almost every part of our day. There was a time when teachers constantly said, “Keep quiet!” during lectures because students talked too much.

 

Classrooms were filled with conversations, laughter, arguments and endless discussions. Friends shared stories, cracked jokes and waited eagerly for breaks just to talk to one another. The noise of conversations has slowly been replaced by the silence of scrolling. This silent change reflects a much bigger reality of our generation. Phones are no longer just gadgets; they have become an inseparable part of our lives. From morning alarms to late-night scrolling, screens follow us everywhere. We use them while eating, travelling, studying, and even during conversations with people sitting right beside us. What begins as “just a few minutes” often turns into hours of endless scrolling. Students open their phones during short breaks and unknowingly lose track of time.

 

Conversations are replaced with reels, notifications interrupt focus, and silence between people is filled with screens instead of interaction. We sit together physically but remain mentally absent. The professor’s question that day sounded simple but it carried an important truth: Are we slowly forgetting how to connect with people without screens in between? Perhaps the solution does not lie in completely rejecting technology, but in learning to balance things. Putting phones aside during conversations, reducing unnecessary screen time, and making space for real experiences can slowly bring back the human connection we are losing. Because if we continue spending every free moment staring at screens, we may eventually realise that while we were busy scrolling through others’ life, our’s quietly passed by.