It is a sobering thing when you never get calls from your parents anymore.
Is it a sign of age? Crumbling relationships? Is our society just absurdly busy now such that our pre-retirement parents don't care to talk to their adult children? Is it apathy, even?
After much reflection, questioning of siblings, and comparing notes with my friends, I have found one contributing factor to the increasing dearth of calls from Mom.
It's Tumblr.
Siblings are viewing our mobile blog on Tumblr. The narrative it provides sates their curiosity. Tumblr shows them all the best from our lives. Some of our worst moments.
In sum, it's entertaining.
It has a huge cute factor, as the photo below evinces, of Elsa sporting her ladybug antennae pre-Halloween.
Apparently, it's also a lot more enjoyable and efficient than calling me. Or even reading my meandering blog.
Now that my parents get the condensed version of my life, they feel more connected. Hence, they reach out to me less. Which leaves me strangely feeling more disconnected to them.
Is this the dynamic that we are to expect from our ever-increasing "connectedness?" Are the people who publish, share, and post with the aim of bringing more people into their worlds actually seeing their real relationships diminish? It's sobering to think that my parents are blithely viewing my mobile blog, content with these photobytes. However, it leaves me, and alas, my little lovebugs wondering after, and wanting, the impromptu phone calls.
You bring up a great point in this post Erikka. With more and more of my real-life friends maintaining blogs, I can now just log in and find out what they're doing whereas before, I would have called them to find out such information.
I know I'm in trouble when I choose an evening in with the computer instead of a night out with my friends. :)
Posted by: Tara Anderson | October 09, 2008 at 08:20 AM
random acts of cuteness bring down barriers.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/garone/2624720473/in/set-72157605900339130/
Posted by: erikka | October 09, 2008 at 07:18 PM