The power of words is truly magical. They can be both the killer and the healer. Advanced communication technology is creating milestones every minute. Whatever the mode of communication be, words remain their strength. With the intervention of social media emojis seem to have taken over. A set of words can now be replaced and simplified by an emoji. Long conversations over the phone are replaced by unending chats.
The lack of face to face conversations has reduced the openness and depth in relationships. One of my friends recently remarked that since there was a drastic reduction in the number of personal message one received after the introduction of Whatsapp status, he too was forced to put status to keep alive his contacts.
It is highly appreciable how communication process across the globe has become cheaper. But we achieved this only by paying a greater price which we knowingly or unknowingly ignored. The neo communication techniques cannot replace the warmth of a letter or an STD call that came to you from your loved one occasionally.
Now it is easy to remember and wish people who you have not met even once in your real life. Making things easier for you, Facebook has taken up the moral responsibility to remind you to arrange a party on your mother's and father's birthdays. They even make a personalised video for you to celebrate your friendversary(friendship anniversary) with them!.
On your birthday, wishes flood in. From your parents, siblings, cousins, roommates, schoolmate, colleague, neighbour, fish seller, vegetable vendor, grocery shop owner to the watchman of the apartment in the next lane everybody wishes you well on your special day. In the bottom of our hearts do those wishes altogether weigh as much as a handwritten unexpected personal message from a dear old friend that your postman delivers to you? It is a fact that some of us did not even recognise a few people who wished us a great new year.
It’s true that we can keep in touch and share information and it is much easier now to reach out to people during emergencies. Kerala indeed witnessed the magical power of social media during the devastating floods of August.
It is high time we check the purity of bonds that these new media is helping us to sustain.
I tend to doubt that Friendship these days are more about selfies and statuses than open talks and understanding each other. Even those relationships that are strongly knit tend to be fragile. Those who use the neo media for communication are already aware that there are higher chances for miscommunication as there is no scope for the receiver to understand the emotion in the voice or the expression on the face of the speaker.
Thus face to face talks become difficult especially when you are trying to heal the wounds that are hurting any sort of a relation. Those who otherwise found it it easy to talk may find it difficult to face each other or struggle with words while trying to fix the crack. You need great strength to face problems at its face, and only then can words work its wonder. Your voice can play magic but only when you know to use the wand right!