Facebook users must have already experienced firsthand that, thanks to the interface, we often don’t even remember the birthdays of our best friends or distant relatives, because we don’t need to: the page reminds us of current celebrations every day. Of course, this is all a kind of guarantee so that we don’t forget the people who are important to us, but in the long run it leads to the point where we don’t even know whose birth date it is until we open Facebook.
This emerging phenomenon is well evidenced by the fact that Facebook recently reported:
More than 45 million people every day wish Merry Christmas to others through the social interface,
Among them, on average, there are only 3-4 people whose birthday is in our head even without opening the page – previously wrote The Wall Street Journal.
Christmas used to be a really important event, but today, thanks to social media, in most cases it means just another notice, which we usually ignore or dismiss quickly with an SMS. And why did it happen this way? Thanks to Facebook, no one needs to make an effort to keep these occasions in mind.
Some say that the site has become very useful, and at the same time
She downplayed the event she sought to facilitate.
When the clock strikes midnight on our birthday, people we haven’t seen or spoken to in years show up to leave a “Happy Birthday!” under their names. message on our timeline. This is often all well and good, but when you think about it, most are just writing because Facebook shoved the event in their face, just like any other less important occasion, after-work drink, house party or prom.
It was a big deal, and it became a ten-second routine
It takes less than ten seconds to type a salutation and press ENTER, which in many cases makes our job easier, but at the same time, the intimacy associated with personal greetings and noting important dates has also disappeared. Even before social media was popular, greeting someone was really important. Just remembering someone’s birthday means we care about it, because we already have it recorded or had it in mind.
In addition, there were surprise parties and greetings, writing greeting cards or making cakes, all of which required a lot of effort, which really means something to the person who wished him a happy birthday.
However, this has now almost completely disappeared.
Facebook has simplified the meaning of birthdays
– A. concluded gizmondo.
When Facebook took away from us the effort of greeting a distant family member or an old friend, it also took away the meaning of the entire holiday. Relationships take effort. It’s built around quiet, behind-the-scenes gestures that show someone you care. It could be an offer to help him move, a concern question targeting his parents’ health, a call before a big trip, or a good luck message before a job interview – all without notifications or prompts, since
This is what separates friends from acquaintances.
The challenge of today’s world is that we know more people than ever before, and life is busier than ever, so it’s easy to forget even our closest friends, which is great when you have something to remind you of.
Although Facebook really devalued birthday wishes, it never intended to change the importance of those small, thoughtful gestures that show someone they matter, and it’s never too late to re-engrav them in our heads. A little brain exercise and memory development never hurt anyone…
(Cover photo: Dorina Ruzsovics/Index)
