The Maccabeats are back–and this time, with a rendition of Simon & Garfunkel’s “The Sound of Silence,” which is now almost 50 years old. Isn’t that hard to believe? It’s a beautiful rendition breathing new life and meaning into a tried and true classic.
The song and video, made in collaboration with Jew in the City, focuses on the fact that in social media, there is a sort of silence, or lack of true communication. Are we actually speaking with each other, or just at each other in some void? By doing this, we’re isolating each other even more. For parents, this is important to think about, especially when raising kids in a world where technology is everywhere–and it impacts how we interact with each other.
As pointed out on the YouTube channel, “Art Garfunkel once summed up The Sound of Silence as ‘the inability of people to communicate with each other.'”
The main question I was left with at the end of the video: Are we too stuck in our phones, literally? If you find yourself walking down the street or not answering someone’s question, because you’re too engaged in a Twitter debate, that’s probably a yes.
Listen to the song below: