Can you hear me now?

I'm losing the ability to communicate directly.

I'm completely confused. We cell because it's supposed to be a great way to stay in touch, yet we screen so we can't be found. Conversations are almost always disconnected or difficult to hear and mostly done while focusing on one or two other things. I don't know anyone's phone number. I used to know all my friend's phone numbers. I barely remember my own home phone number. We text for efficiency, but it's really just a great way to screen under the guise of actually talking. We email when we can't get to a phone or at work or when it's too late at night. When am I actually talking to someone and listening?

Nobody can "read" each other anymore because we're eye to eye less and less. All this indirect-ness breeds confusion, isolation, fear and *static* SCCCHHHHHHHHHHHH....