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Malay Mail
08-07-2025
- General
- Malay Mail
Why real conversation is our last defence against a lonely world — Ng Kwan Hoong
JULY 8 — 'People talking without speaking People hearing without listening...' ~ Simon & Garfunkel, 'The Sound of Silence' Those words, written in the 1960s, may as well have been written for today. We live in an age where communication is everywhere. It hums in our pockets, flashes across our screens, and echoes through every waking hour. Notifications ping, reels autoplay, and voice notes arrive in rapid fire. We talk, and talk, and talk. And yet, many of us feel unheard. It's a strange thing — to be surrounded by words but still feel alone. But that's what's happening. Conversation, the real kind, is quietly slipping through our fingers. We're losing not the ability to speak, but the willingness to listen. Not the tools to connect, but the time to care. And in that gap — between noise and meaning — grows something deeper. Silence. Not the peaceful kind, but the kind filled with absence. With disconnection. With loneliness. I'm not speaking from theory alone. Over the years, I've watched this shift happen. In classrooms, among colleagues, even in families. People share space, but not attention. They speak, but not to understand. Often, they don't even make eye contact anymore. The statistics tell the same story. Around the world, loneliness is rising — especially among the young. In surveys across countries, people in their twenties and early thirties report feeling more isolated than ever, despite having access to more communication tools than any generation before them. Technology isn't the enemy. It never was. Smartphones and social media have opened up access, especially during times of crisis. But something has changed in how we relate to one another. Speed has overtaken depth. Volume has replaced value. We're living, in many ways, in a constant state of partial attention. Celeste Headlee, in her 2017 book 'We Need to Talk', reminds us that conversation is a skill — one that must be practised. And like any skill, it fades when neglected. She offers simple but powerful reminders: stay present, be curious, resist the urge to interrupt. Ask questions not to steer the conversation your way, but to understand where someone else is coming from. These may sound like small things. But they're not. They are the building blocks of empathy. They are how trust is built. And in a world that feels increasingly uncertain and divided, trust is something we can't afford to lose. So where do we begin? Perhaps by remembering that a real conversation is a gift. One that asks for your full attention, and offers presence in return. You don't need to be eloquent or have all the right words. You just need to show up. To care. To be willing to sit in the silence until someone finds the courage to speak. A cup of coffee shared without devices on the table. A walk where questions are asked, and truly heard. A conversation with your child where you're not multitasking. These aren't grand gestures, but they matter. Because they tell the other person: I see you. I'm here with you. You are not invisible. A person talks to an AI-powered robot named Aluo at a shopping centre in Beijing. — AFP pic And maybe forgive ourselves for how far we've drifted. Life moves quickly. It's easy to slip into habits of convenience. But the good news is — it's never too late to return. To put the phone down. To look up. To begin again. I recently watched two strangers strike up a conversation in the waiting area at Menara Timur, UMMC, while waiting for their names to be called. One was an older man, the other a teenager. I couldn't hear their words, but I noticed the body language — one leaning in, the other nodding slowly. There was no rush, no distractions. Just the rhythm of two people discovering a shared moment. It reminded me that conversation doesn't always solve problems. But it helps us feel less alone in facing them. And that might be enough. We live in a world that often feels fractured. But in every real conversation lies the possibility of healing. Of being reminded that beneath our differences, we are all looking for the same things: understanding, connection, belonging. Let's not let that slip away. Because if we stop having real conversations, we don't just lose words — we lose each other. So the next time someone sits beside you, or reaches out, or lingers after a meeting... take the moment. Ask how they are — and mean it. Let them speak. Let them finish. Let them be heard. Because when we stop listening — really listening — silence begins to grow. Not the peaceful kind, but the kind that spreads like a cancer, just as that old Simon & Garfunkel song warned us. Choose to listen. Choose to connect. Choose, again and again, To be human. * Ng Kwan Hoong is Emeritus Professor at the Department of Biomedical Imaging, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur. This 2020 Merdeka Award recipient is a medical physicist by training, but also enjoys teaching, writing, drawing, taking photos and tinkering with ideas for new medical devices. He may be reached at [email protected] ** This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail.
Forbes
29-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Disturbed's Career-Defining Hit Returns To Multiple Billboard Charts
Disturbed is still preoccupied with promoting its latest single, "I Will Not Break," but fans of the hard rock band aren't solely focused on that new release. As the group's most recent drop begins to decline on several Billboard charts, another familiar hit is making a somewhat surprising comeback. A cover that has come to define the outfit's career and commercial success is not only rising, but returning to multiple tallies at the same time in the United States, becoming a true bestseller across the board. "The Sound of Silence" — the Simon & Garfunkel classic that Disturbed reworked into a rock smash nearly a decade ago — reenters two Billboard tallies this frame. It breaks back onto the Alternative Digital Song Sales chart at No. 7 and finds its way to No. 9 on the Rock Digital Song Sales list after not appearing on either of those rankings at all last frame. The same tune can also be found on a third purchase-only tally. "The Sound of Silence" climbs from No. 7 to No. 3 on the Hard Rock Digital Song Sales list. "The Sound of Silence" has previously topped all three sales charts in the past. If it can hold on for 10 more frames on the Hard Rock Digital Song Sales list, it will reach 500 stays. Disturbed's cut has spent the least amount of time among these three tallies on the Rock Digital Song Sales roster, where it's now up to 328 turns. The song is so popular that it even managed to cross over and become an electronic dance win well over a year ago, and still holding strong to this day. Producer Cyril remixed Disturbed's version of the composition, and it hit No. 1 on Billboard's Dance Digital Song Sales chart. After 68 weeks on that tally, it still holds at No. 3. Fans of Disturbed seem to be shifting their focus back to "The Sound of Silence" as "I Will Not Break" dips on most of the rankings on which it appears this frame. The current focus drops one spot to No. 5 on the Rock & Alternative Airplay list and down to No. 17 on the Hot Hard Rock Songs tally. At the same time, it holds in fifth place on the Mainstream Rock Airplay roster, where it recently dominated, adding to the group's list of champions.
Forbes
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Disturbed's Career-Defining Single Is A True Bestseller Again
Months after its release, Disturbed's new single "I Will Not Break" is still a big hit on the Billboard charts. This frame, the tune appears on a trio of lists, holding on within the top 10 on each of them. Radio DJs continue to put it into heavy rotation while fans eagerly snap up the hard rock cut. The cover that has surprisingly come to define the band's career returns to multiple tallies at the same time the group's latest offering continues to perform well, and it asserts itself once more as a true bestseller. "The Sound of Silence" also appears on three Billboard rankings this frame, just like "I Will Not Break" – although there is no overlap between where the cuts appear. While "I Will Not Break" is largely a success at radio, "The Sound of Silence" lives solely on a trio of sales-focused rosters. This week, the track increases its chart count as it returns to two purchase-centric lists. Disturbed's cut reappears highest on the Alternative Digital Song Sales chart, where it's back at No. 9. It also returns to the Rock Digital Song Sales list, coming in at No. 13. Purchases of the Simon & Garfunkel reworking must have surged, as the song not only reenters those two rosters, but also climbs on a third. "The Sound of Silence" lifts from No. 6 to No. 3 on the Hard Rock Digital Song Sales tally. Disturbed also appears on one other Billboard chart at the moment — and impressively, it's with yet another take on "The Sound of Silence." The Cyril remix of the tune is just one spot away from ruling the Dance Digital Song Sales chart. Yet again, it holds firm in the runner-up position — an impressive placement for a track that has now spent 66 weeks on that list. Disturbed has hit No. 1 on nearly every tally where the band currently appears with its current hits. The only chart the band has not topped so far is the Rock & Alternative Airplay ranking. "I Will Not Break" isn't far off from ruling, though. It holds at No. 3 on that radio tally, one spot beneath its all-time highest placement. Since it remains inside the top three, it could still climb higher, potentially earning Disturbed yet another No. 1 in the coming weeks — especially as the group continues to promote the cut and looks ahead to what's next.
