It was
past 8pm when I got home that evening from work. It had been a long hectic day
with more deadlines than time could sustain; somehow I had managed to juggle my
tasks and found a reasonable balance. The traffic was light that evening so it
took me a short while to get home.
Unfortunately
when I got home, there was no power so my intentions to stay up late working
were thwarted. As I sat down to have my dinner, it dawned on me that I had not
been on what’s app much of the day so this was my moment to catch up with the
buzz and hype of social media.
My
mind begun to flow with reminders of all the people I was meant to get in touch
with but for some reason they had slipped my mind. I typed out a simple message
asking about how people’s day had been to a couple of friends and soon it was
to a whole lot of friend. The responses were even more overwhelming. One by one;
friends begun to share highlights from their day. It seemed like many of them
were simply waiting for someone to ask them about their day - I was amazed.
It
dawned on me that this could be the missing puzzle in the social media
communications. Although we are seemingly in touch, we are so detached from
each other. I had a sense of warmth and closeness embrace me as I sent back and
forth messages with a couple of friends and acquaintances. It felt like coming home to a big family of
friends and loved one, sitting by the fire place and sharing stories of our
day’s experiences. I had not had this kind of connection in a while.
The
digital migration has taught us how to tweet, text and post statements on our
walls that others like, share and follow but we forgot to stop and simply ask
how people are. And when we do, we hardly take the time to listen to the
responses because we ask in passing. How often we long for this kind of
connection and yet we are too afraid to initiate it. Where did this contentedness go?
The
more I think about it, the more I advocate for this kind of analogue migration.
How about setting days and times when we just stop chatting about everything
and nothing and start talking to each other like it matters? When was the last
time you expressed your true feelings, insights and struggles to your inner
circle of friends? This might require us getting intentional to stop and
connect with the people that matter in our lives. My best days happen to be days when I choose
to stay offline and I am thinking of having more of those days to simply
connect with my inner circle and family. I dare you to make this analogue
migration for yourself.
Relationships
are not built in a vacuum; they require intentional inputs, efforts and
consistence.
Noeline
Kirabo
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