What happened to Communication?

What is it about putting up walls...Why are we so accustomed to doing it. I am no acceptation. I like to think I am a very open book however even I have things that I would rather be left unsaid.
I mean people like me wouldn't walk around saying very nice to meet you and I had a tumultuous childhood, my mother and father divorced when I was 2 and I suffer from anxiety disorder as well as agoraphobia oh and occasionally depression. Yeah I could see us all doing that. That is not what I am talking about here.
I am writing about people who put up fronts. For example maybe they are getting a divorce and yet they act as they are doing just fine. People who have lost a loved one and act as though nothing has just happened. They take the recommended days from work to bury there loved one and are back to work 2 days later.
What gives? I am at a loss here. How can you go through life never connecting to anyone except for on the very surface. How can you ever know true depth and meaning of what it is to be human without the very thing that makes us just that. What separates us most from other animals is a highly intelligent mind and communication ability. The expression of our thoughts and emotions is vital to our physical and mental health.
I have meet very few people in my life who are just so vastly different than I that I fail to understand how they get through life. I can speak of boyfriends in the past whom I never felt I got through to. They had no expression at all. Almost like statues...makes me wonder what I ever saw in them. I acquaintances who have hardly any personality to speak of. They could probably sit on there own personal island and stare into outer space and feel perfectly at home with no expression whatsoever.
I am not saying that everyone has to read philosophy books and write blog entries all day. I am just expressing my irritation with people who don't really connect with those around them who don't use there god given ability to engage with people. To me communication is a beautiful art form and a powerful one at that. You can make someone feel so loved and happy as well as tear a persons world apart all with words. You can mirror someones personality traits to have good rapport with them.
What a powerful thing at our very fingertips. There are TV shows who play on the power of communication. Big Brother and Survivor. People will say they are with one team and then use words to trick other teams into alliance with them to win a game.
SO why would we then choose not to connect with people.? Why would we choose not to express ourselves verbally? I assume people don't want to be shunned or they are afraid of being ridiculed or maybe they just are afraid of getting hurt if they open up and communicate. The sad thing is all those things are just part of life and you can't stop connecting with your fellow humans but you are missing out on they very thing that brings great satisfaction in life. To me that is worth the risk and the effort but apparently not everyone agrees with me.
There are several important relationships where communication is key and the one that most comes to mind is marriage. I can not even imagine a marriage without strong communication. Really I can't imagine any realationship where communication is null and void. It is vital to the health and well being of both people. It is what connects and ties you togeather. When things get tough it has a huge role in how well the outcome will turn out. SO needless to say communication is most definatly not something to take lightly or to be shunned. I have a huge respect and admoration for people who are great commuicators and I will continue to be awed by expression of the verbal kind.