Keying in 'I love you' is not pinging three hearts!

 

Are we losing our ability to express our inner self? Go a decade, or rather two, deeper into what was the norm. Write, write, write - just one step of the quad-write, read, speak, hear - we adhered to, when it came to learning language.

Such a powerful tool, having evolved over thousands of years, is now stooping low before clicks that pixelate our view and then transfer it miles away in moments. Will we stop writing, having accepted speech and visual as the new norms? 

It's tough, indeed, to learn to write. Learn, at first, to identify symbols (letters) that express not only what's in front of the eye but also within. Then join the same symbols to express basic ideas. Again, learn to combine the phrases and sentences to give birth to something that has the potential to revolutionise the present, and the future. 

Can the visuals and the audio do all of the stuff that we did with text for ages. Is it the return of the cave-age of visuals. A thumbs-up (confession: I frequently use in chat-responses), or down, is a quick expression or response. An emoji, perhaps, expresses more than saying 'thanks', 'ha-ha', 'I like your expression'. But, it also restricts boldness and leaves response partly open to interpretation. 'I love you' is not same as pinging a 'heart'. 'I missed you', 'let's catch up', 'you are my best buddy' - how many phrases can we express with visuals?

Then comes a higher stage when you don't only understand what you write, but also what the writing actually depicts - a second layer, a certain mood, a certain meaning, a piece of writing which is open-ended and you are left clueless or with clues to decode the meaning. 

The plots we build before the climax, as we are telling a story, textually. The poetry 'Full stop'

Just as 'Full stop' cannot replace '.', visuals while being important cannot eat away the letters. There's no blaming here. Acquiring the ability to master writing always meant hard work. Then, or now. There's no generational change to blame. Only the hardworking souls will continue to master the art and science and commerce of writing. Rest can find the shorter route to expression, and so will they discover the world, only on smaller a canvas. Happy writing!

photo courtesy: Hannah Olinger (writing), Annie Spratt (rose)/ Unsplash