Gone are the days when one would wait for weeks, if not months, to sniff at fresh ink ardently put on ivory or cream printed letters. Those letters would carry a significant weight of communication, friendship, concern and patience.
As close as it felt to dip oneself into the handwritten epiphany, it was, on the other hand, the anticipation of getting an answer back. Back in the day, one did not have many mediums to connect and socialise as it is now. The bonds and their limitations tucked under limited options had made people socialise with people within a specific boundary.
One could not think of forming friendships out of their school. It was difficult for one to go out of their way and approach to connect. Thanks to social media today, one doesn’t have to fight the awkward glances or even the nervousness that often builds up when connecting with new people.
On the other hand, mobile phones have carved the most prominent way as a part of the socialisation spectrum. From letters to text messages, words quickly transform themselves into digital bytes. While the transformation persists, there are tons of ways in which socialisation has now taken the electric speeds of the early era.
Fahim Ahmed Chowdhury, a student of marketing at BUP (Bangladesh University of Professionals), said, “Once upon a time we used to go out with friends to have a good time and visit each other and send cute letters and gift cards on their birthdays. Nowadays we don’t spend even five minutes together without looking at our phones every five seconds. We wish friends on their birthdays by writing on their Facebook walls instead of calling them, or physically greeting them on their birthdays. We have definitely changed our way of socialisation.”
In the past, people would go out physically to lay an invitation, to say, a big social gathering. Be it a grand wedding or an intimate kitty party; invitation cards would signify the gravity of the event. When handing out the invitation from going one door to the other, one would simply not leave from the door. Hours of chitchat followed by a session of tea and snacks would bind them together in a moment.
But nowadays the moment you’re added to a group chat, you know you’re invited! One can also see the members attending that certain invitation. “People are more open to expressing their views on these platforms and find people that align with their thought process”, Ifreet Zaima, a student of HSC batch 2020, commented.
However, conventional invitation standards are still pretty much maintained when it comes to big occasions such as wedding parties. But that doesn’t mean one would not have a fun group chat for a bridesmaid gang.
Zubayer Wasit, from the economics department of BUP, said “From telegram to Instagram, the world can now see the stories and snapshots of one’s life, of course only what one shares there. Social media platforms such as Instagram and Facebook have progressed to set a system where you can unsend a message whenever you wish. Whether the option of unsending messages is good or bad it is another discussion, but the fact that it takes less than a second to send a message and continuously be in a socialising boat is in itself a relief.”
While the young generation continues to interact with their friends and connects with whomever they like, most of the time, they are not seen talking to people around them. In a family dinner, teenagers, while texting on their smartphones, are not seen interacting with anyone else from their family. This gives rise to the question as to whether digitisation is bringing people closer.
Farah Ismail, an admission candidate at Adamjee Cantonment College, believes that socialisation through different mediums has today generated much confidence amongst people who wouldn’t otherwise be able to communicate face to face. Anyone who finds it challenging to build a conversation in real life finds it convenient to carry it online. In such an instance, most of the social media platforms have worked to slowly wipe out the anxiousness many people face in initiating conversations. Hence, people find a comfort in the social media while they express their thoughts, and gain perspective of the world.
The sad part about socialisation is today's kids don’t seem to enjoy playing outside as those from the 90s did. With the means of so many tools and platforms available, more integrated forms of groups can be formed to play video games or games that can be played online. Valorant, PUBG and Fortnite have also gained popularity by merging people on a collective platform.
Fateen Farhan, CEO of TRANSport, said, “Communication is an art. Socialising in a better manner is always a worth mentioning skill. Today’s generation is more comfortable socialising on the internet than in real life”
However, people nowadays don’t worry about missing birthday parties or bridal showers when they’re living far off, except for the fact that they might miss the delicious food. Video calls alone are enough to make one feel present at a big event. Missing a party can be upsetting only when it is organised by somebody close to somebody. Messenger calls, imo, facetime, whatsapp video calls have made it almost impossible to miss an event.
The most significant example of how people socialise today has been found during the pandemic — from virtual social gatherings to arranging creative art classes, socialising in pandemic has got quite some heat. Discord is the most go-to platform to jam to music and work together. People take up physical activities and put them on the virtual spectrum. Book clubs, yoga sessions, and monthly meetups are laid online. More and more people had taken their outdoor life and in-person communication for granted, but that has changed after the pandemic.
With the global pandemic seemingly not going so soon, we might see different forms of socialisation. With humans and their curious minds always making their way to connect and create, there’s hardly anything impossible!
