What happened to the act of writing in love, letters that will long after be read by generations to come?
—
What happened to waiting in trembles at the idea of receiving a hard copy of hand written vestiges of the wetness of kisses that we exchanged?
What happened to the excitement of not knowing if the other person received what we so dearly wanted to send?
Well, Whatsapp happened.
Whatsapp is diminishing boundaries that made love a matter of waiting, in the form of written communication.
|
And at this divine birth of instant communication, we are left confused. We can cry at the loss of wonder of receiving the age old carriers of love, letters. Yet, we know that whatsapp is creating a new generation of love exchanges.
Whatsapp is creating immediacy in love exchanges, across time and space. Unlike the previous times, when one lover conveys doubt, the other can hold him at the thought, perhaps use a preferred emoji and ask questions.
One can tell her partner the words she wants to repeat again and again. Copying and pasting the same passion.
One can draw images, click moods, attach emoticons and express with audios and videos at a speed which she chooses to connect with.
Whatsapp is diminishing boundaries that made love a matter of waiting, in the form of written communication. But, it is also creating a generation of people who are more accustomed to immediate gratification.
I don’t know if the love is being lost because I don’t know what love you are experiencing.
|
The power to hide the last seen on text is a power which lovers are often advised to use wisely. The power to send a message that will fall tenderly on the eye of the loved one as the last text before the night engulfs him into sleep is a power that can touch dreams, quite literally.
Still, there remains a question, are we losing out on love?
And the answer cannot be given simply in a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ format.
The answer is indeed, ‘I don’t know’, a phrase that our generation is too afraid to hear. I remember I said it many a times to a friend in relation to his constant questioning about a topic and for an entire year, I kept telling him, ‘I don’t know’.
I guess that is the answer.
I don’t know if the love is being lost because I don’t know what love you are experiencing. I don’t know what is being shared; the intensity of your love thrills. I don’t know because each relationship is different in its texture and layers.
It is impossible and often unfortunate to check the bullet points on whether your love life is going well or not depending on how many points your relationship manages to tick on a check list of a distant author.
Forget about whether or not your love fairs well as compared to the love that was experienced by previous generations because, comparisons of this kind lead to fatal conclusions.
|
For all you know, your relationship may fall out of the bullet points. For all you know, you and your partner are nowhere close to the imagination of the author because your connection is so serene that it renders itself to a special place which only the two of you can grasp.
So, forget about whether or not your love fairs well as compared to the love that was experienced by previous generations because, comparisons of this kind lead to fatal conclusions. You don’t need to compare your love on a rating scale.
You don’t need to hold by the collar, the entity that you and your partner has created, which you regard as ‘us’. You can choose not to put it to test which someone else creates.
What you may however, do is, carry on bathing in the sweet relishes of love that is flowing between you and your partner. Your partner’s countenance can be felt in the whatsapp emoticons. Your fastidious reading of his numerous texts can possibly leave no shred of doubt circle around in infinity, these short letters let you speak and you can choose to engage freely.
It is impossible and often unfortunate to check the bullet points on whether your love life is going well…
|
It is possible that your connection is special. Yet, be aware that messages take only a little while to be sent and what you think is a message that is specially crafted to you might as well have been sent to a dozen other people. And this is where a connection beyond letters and whatsapp comes into play and this is what we as a generation needs to intensify. We need to change our concerns of what does this text mean? To a more fulfilling question, how did I feel when I was with my partner?
—
Photo: Getty Images
Hi Kavya, found your article and thought it was interesting. So many opinions side with the idea that online messaging apps and dating apps are “killing” love, so your points on how they might help were thought-provoking. I do agree that a message is never going to be as powerful or heartfelt as conveying those same feelings in person. I think that’s what most people are looking for when they talk about a “true connection.” Thanks for sharing.
Well in today’s paced technology, using chat apps like whatsapp is very useful and convenient to send simple and heartwarming messages to your significant other. But a good old fashion handwritten letter can be good too occasionally.