Kate Murphy\'s new book, You\'re Not Listening, suggests that many of us - absorbed in our own thoughts and dreams, occupying our little digital bubbles - have lost the ability to listen, creating an epidemic of loneliness and isolation.

Murphy argues that our growing failure to listen has dire political consequences because we are no longer willing to engage with our opponents\' points of view. In the US, for instance, "senators used to meet in a communal dining room where they talked to each other and were exposed to each other in a way where they could really listen, whether it was about politics or something else. They humanised each other. Now people are intent on being separate and demonising one another. It\'s not just that they don\'t agree. They think the other person is bad, is an evil person. You can\'t start listening if you think the other person is fundamentally an idiot or a bad person." She says you only grow when you listen to opposing viewpoints - a powerful argument for escaping from our social-media echo chamber. 

Continued here