We don’t talk anymore
...like we used to do
I took the train almost every day. As I observed, a lot of passengers just stare at their phones for the whole trip, even if they have company with them. They’re texting all the time. Not try to complain people who mind their own business, but I guess it’s better to keep quiet than to endure all the noise going on.
Some people try to mitigate the awkwardness in such a situation by pretending they’re busy texting their friends. If I had to choose, I’d rather take the bus, for the views, of course.
Back in the days, people were simpler. People are more kind. I remember when I was in primary school, my classmates were all very nice to each other. In case you don’t know, no one had a mobile phone in the 90’s back then. We always made phone calls without all that social media non-sense. People call each other’s homes to chat. We remembered their phone numbers even without the need to write them down.
A very long time ago, when I was still a kid, I once made a call to a classmate’s home to ask for homework or something. The day before, she asked me to wait after her dad left home to work. I called a bit too early and her dad picked up the phone, telling me I wasn’t paying attention during lessons and if I should study harder. I was being lectured and wouldn’t dare make any calls to anyone’s house before 9 am for a long time. If it happens today, I’m pretty sure the family will report it to school and accuse the kid of being inappropriate or something.
We need to wear uniforms to attend school. Everyone is treated the same, no matter the level of income in their family. Others don’t judge you because of whether your clothes were cheap or not. And for those families who can’t afford nice clothes for their kids, they won’t feel embarrassed. In school, kids can chat to each other without worrying about literally anything. At the time, most kids were being honest, and more innocent. I always wore a pair of classic white shoes from PE lessons for my five years of study in college. I got myself the first Converse All Star after I graduated.
There were a few classmates in my class who loved to visit the arcade after school, and they had to take off their school’s badges where they were sewed on the shirts of their uniforms in order to get in. They played King of Fighters mostly, and they told me that playing Street Fighters was lame. Those were the days.
Before the smartphone was a thing, there was SMS messaging. I once had a flip phone, I can type a full sentence in Chinese without looking at the keypad.
But for now, if you send a text message to someone and waiting for a reply while the person pretends not to see it. Do you feel worried if you care enough? The read receipt in messages, the double blue checks, they form different kinds of interpretations in their heads. People make assumptions based on so little. This becomes somewhat a mind-game if they were in a relationship.
It’s kind of rare to have a proper conversation with a person anymore. Text messages feel cold, even with the help of emojis. Can you remember any of the phone numbers you had in your contacts? I doubt it.
It would feel more genuine if you could tell the person what’s on your mind, wouldn’t you agree?
Shall we talk?
This is #Day73 of #100DaysToOffload.