Conversations
Presence Is Not the Same as Physical Proximity
Physical proximity changes a conversation. A shared room gives us peripheral cues, movement, silence, and forms of attention that a screen cannot reproduce exactly.
Distance changes those conditions without automatically eliminating presence. Someone can sit across a table and barely listen. Another person can be far away and attend with unusual care.
Technology affects access, delay, framing, and visual cues. It should neither be treated as equivalent in every respect nor dismissed as unreal. The question is what careful participation asks of people in each setting.
Proximity is a physical condition. Presence is a quality of participation. A room can support it, and a screen can support it. Neither guarantees it.