Why listening is the most important democratic skill of the digital age

By Sara Kells, Director of Program Management at IE Digital Learning and Adjunct Professor of Humanities, IE University

In a typical conversation today, it is not difficult to sense when someone has stopped listening. Their attention shifts, their response arrives too quickly, or their eyes drift toward a screen waiting nearby. The exchange continues, but something essential has already been lost. We speak more than ever across platforms, devices, and digital spaces. But are we actually listening to one another?

Public debate today tends to focus on speech. Questions of who can speak, what should be regulated, and whether free expression is under threat dominate discussions about digital life. These…

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