Now, I'm not going to argue, as her straw man does, that what matters is that you should remember a birthday with a note on paper. Or the power of your Bhagavad Gita remembering mind. I'm supportive of using new technology to augment our mental capacity. Plato's character complaining about how kids these days can't remember epic poetry can suck it.
But for me, people posting "Happy Birthday!!!!!" on my Facebook wall just shows me that they logged on to Facebook. When 50 people don't communicate with me on Facebook or any other way (email, phone, in person) 364 days of the year, then suddenly appear to be glad that I'm alive, it reveals the shallowness of a Facebook "friend". If you post that you saw a punctuation error you thought I'd appreciate, or just send me a link to a cool video, that shows more knowledge of me as a person, and indicates more friendship than letting Facebook remind you to tell me HAPPY BIRTHDAY. It's not about whether you remember my birthday or not, with or without mechanical aids. It's about whether you remember who I am. (And I'm ok if you have some sort of notes that assist you in that, too.)
I don't mind when people shower me with hollow affection. But I find deeper interactions more meaningful.
1 comment:
Very good post, and I completely agree. Instead of saying "thank you everyone for your birthday wishes", I sort through the ones that have meaning "Happy birthday Sam, I remember in Kindergarten when I first met you..", and thank them specifically for their wishes.
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