I found that silence means very different things for me and my wife. For me, a fair bit of my time is spent in silence, and that can be anywhere: at the computer, driving, sitting on the couch. For my wife, when she was young silence was used by her family as a form of punishment; when someone was not talking it meant that they were ignoring you purposely.
Being ignored as a punishment, well that seems a bit harsh. By my definition of silence, time spent at the computer wouldn't count. My definition would mean that my internal dialog was also silenced. -This is easier said than done, but to be at the computer or even driving doesn't cut it for me. I think we feel exhausted after a long drive not because of the physical demands but the mental one. -It's far from a "silent" state imo. But to others it may be the perfect Zen. We're all different.