Even more alarmingly... people focus so much time on sending instant letters to each other that they forget how to read basic facial and body expressions.
As someone studying Psychology... that terrifies me.
I'm currently waiting for an implied letter from an old friend of mine overseas. (His location isn't quite clear unless you know him well, so I don't think I should be the one that tells the world of his coveted location.)
Don't get me wrong, we've been contacting each other via Twitter, YouTube messages and Facebook messages and comments for the past... three years now. (Wow, 3 years already? Seems like just yesterday that he reminded me we've known each other for 6 months.) We've done collaborative works together, such as the lyrics I sang for "Sayoko" by MikitoP.
We've been through a lot. A lot of fights, and a lot of countless hours spent just having fun talking to each other. He taught me a lot, and I taught him a lot. It's a mutual exchange, that is welcomingly awkward on both ends as we try to make up for the year we spent not in contact with each other.
There is a quote floating around in several social networks that goes something like this:
"It is said that there are some friends that understand each other, get along with each other so well, that they can continue from a conversation where it last left off, even if it was left-off 5 years ago. They don't hold grudges, because both sides understand that it is pointless to do so. These people are truly friends forever."
I know I butchered that quite a bit, but you get the point. OTL
In many ways, my friend and I are quite different from each other. The age gap is one thing, but I was always told that I grew up faster than most people my age because of my past experiences in middle school and high school, so that doesn't surprise me. I've always gotten along with people either older or younger than me.
So yeah... somewhere along the three years, we both seemed to have come to a realization that sending messages to each other loses its meaning, no matter how long these messages go. There's a certain charm about handwritten notes, acting as the red thread that connects us to those that matter to us most - be them friends, family, lovers... Sure, there's a risk of them getting lost in the mail...
...but at least they don't accidentally send you viruses. 8')
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It's a strange feeling when you realize how close you get to people who live so far away.
That's the magical thing about the internet, and more precisely, internet communities like the Vocaloid community. Especially the Vocaloid community.
My friend, Saint, once told me: "Everyone online has some kind of problem with their life. If there was nothing wrong with the life they had now, they would have no reason to be here [the online community]."
It's true that the online world seems like a form of escapism at first... but at this point, I have to beg to differ.
The times have changed. People have ulterior motives these days, and no one is just online - especially in this community - "just for fun" anymore. They want to be famous. They want to be something more.
So, I guess in that sense, it still is a form of escapism... but I'm sure it's not what Saint was thinking when she said that.
At the same time, I can't exactly call this a form of escapism: these supposedly meaningless half-assed messages that we send to each other in condensed forms such as tweets and comments on YouTube cover uploads... We met each other because of them.
But, it's also become the form of a lot of pain for many people who aren't used to such large communities.
I know I was one of them.
So... maybe it's not the simple "meaningless" of online text that wards me away from sending important messages online... Perhaps it's the fact that I'm traumatized by them?
The human touch of the handwritten letter... There's so much warmth in that, is there not?
sorry couldn't help but check out your other sites hope that's not creepy lolol but i read this and i can totally relate to say the least =P
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