We have all experienced that strange moment at least once: the conversation stops. No one speaks. A few seconds feel like a minute. Someone clears their throat. Someone reaches for their phone. Someone throws in a sentence — any sentence — just to break the silence. As if we were taught that silence is a system error. Something that must be urgently fixed with words. But what if it’s the opposite? What if silence is the most important part of communication? Why Silence Makes Us Uncomfortable...

When you work with teenagers—or simply try to have a normal conversation with them—you quickly realize that communication is both the most beautiful and the most complex thing in the world. They are honest to the point of discomfort, fast like notifications, and brutally precise when it comes to detecting anything inauthentic. If you lie to them, list buzzwords, or try to “sell wisdom,” they feel it instantly. If you are real, they respond in kind. Learn From Them I felt this very clearly...

A couple of weeks ago, I was standing in line at a bakery. In front of me, an older woman. Behind me, a student scrolling through TikTok as if he’d lost his keys somewhere between videos. Just when I thought nothing interesting would happen, the woman leaned toward him and asked: “Son, are you watching the news — or those silly things of yours?” He smiled and replied: “No, ma’am. These are silly things that get watched more than the news.” And there it is — the whole truth about modern...