We spend seven hours a day surrounded by hundreds of people. So why does talking to someone new feel so weird?

Walk into a high school hallway and you'll see hundreds of conversations happening at once. Friends are laughing, people are catching up, and someone is probably showing a video to the person next to them.

But look a little closer.

Most of those conversations happen within the same groups.

The person sitting next to you in class might be someone you've known for three years, yet you may have never actually talked to them. You can recognize someone by their face, know their name, see their posts and still have absolutely no idea who they are.

Part of the problem is that talking to someone new has become strangely high-risk. Not actually dangerous, just socially uncomfortable. What if they don't respond? What if the conversation gets awkward? What if their friends are watching?

Sometimes it feels easier to pull out a phone and avoid the possibility altogether.

Phones obviously play a role, but they're not the entire story. Social media has made it easier to stay connected without actually interacting. We can like someone's post, send them a snap or watch their story without ever having a real conversation.

There is also something comforting about staying inside your own group. You already know the jokes, the personalities and the expectations. Meeting someone new means starting from zero.

But high school is one of the few places where you're constantly surrounded by people you may never meet again after graduation. That makes the person sitting two seats away more interesting than we sometimes realize. You don't have to suddenly become friends with everyone. Start smaller.

Ask someone about the assignment. Compliment someone's shirt. Sit somewhere different at lunch. Talk to someone outside your usual group. Go to a game and actually talk to the people around you. The conversation might last thirty seconds. It might turn into a friendship. Or it might just be thirty seconds of talking to another person instead of staring at a screen.

So the next time you're sitting next to someone you've never talked to, are you going to wait for them to say something first?