The Eyes Have It!

Making Connections in a Disconnected World Part 1

There’s nothing more powerful than looking someone in the eye. Think about the last time you had a real, face-to-face conversation with a friend or someone you love. Maybe you shared a laugh, or maybe you comforted each other through tears. Chances are, a lot of what you “said” wasn’t spoken at all—it was in the look, the shared glance, the small movements of your face. That’s the magic of eye contact, and it’s something our screens just can’t replicate.

The Face: Our Original Social Network

Recently I began reading Christine Rosen’s book, The Extinction of Experience. Rosen points out that our faces—especially our eyes—are basically designed for connection. Humans have expressive, open faces with visible whites of the eyes for a reason: it helps us read each other. When we make eye contact, our brains actually start to sync up. We pick up on tiny cues: a raised eyebrow, a twitch of the mouth, the way someone’s eyes light up or darken. All of this helps us build trust and feel understood.

And it’s not just emotional; it’s physical too. Rosen talks about something called the “vagus nerve,” which is like a superhighway between our brain and heart. When we connect face-to-face, our bodies actually respond—we feel calmer, more empathetic, even healthier. That’s can’t happen when we’re staring at a screen.

What Gets Lost When We Go Digital

Rosen argues that we lose a lot with our increasing engagement with screen over face-to-face interactions. Digital conversations are flat—emojis and GIFs can’t capture the nuances of a real smile or a worried glance. We might think we’re staying connected, but we’re missing out on all those subtle, unspoken signals that make relationships deep and meaningful.