Silent films boomed at the start of film, and quickly got replaced by talkies.
Nowadays people at home are watching a movie, talking to friends, and playing on their phone at the same time. Short format content is often consumed silently. The artform of silent film making is having a resurgence (in 1-5 minute clips)
I’ve browsed coub, tiktok, youtube shorts, instagram reels… all muted while doing something else
The Talkie days are numbered.
Talkie days aren’t numbered precisely because of second screens. They need sound in order to be one of the two screens.