The facade of human connection

I still remember my childhood, between 1993-2000. Families shared true connections at that time. Stories were told to us by older men under the moonlight and crickets cry to end the day. We make campfires and sit around catching the warmth from the fire when it starts to get cold, children run about playing in the rain, young ladies in groups go to the stream telling stories along the way. Hunters wield their wooden guns as they set for hunting while their wives bid them goodbye praying for their husbands to have a good catch. Together there were sounds of laughter and pain. We had the beauty of culture where masquerades in their elegance dance in festive period.

The world wasn't as sophisticated as it is now. Mobile devices weren't rampant and technology hadn't advanced this much. We had nothing to boost a technological era but one thing we had then was true laughter and connection as family and human. Suddenly , what seemed like beauty (the introduction of technology) became our very nightmare. Gradually, what we once shared began to lose its value, children no longer enjoyed the folktales that brightened our night, and the joy that comes from playing in groups, making kites from paper bags and the laughter from playing under the rain.

Image generated using Gemini AI

Mobile devices replaced the beautiful moments shared with families. Our joy came from the things that were online, and kept us too busy from the people who were closest to us. Fathers no longer share moments with children and mothers no longer sit their young daughters down to tell them stories of her youth. We who are close seemed so far apart, and we relied on learning ethics and etiquette from the Internet. Technology became the stealer of our heritage and we became too busy creating norms that are strange to us. I'm not discrediting the benefits of technology, my concern lies in the culture that has faded with its rising.

With the introduction of AI and VR(virtual reality) I dread how wider this thing called technology will continue to eat into our human connection that truly matters. Should we embrace technology? Yes, The world is already running digitally and we are making friends both local and international. However, we shouldn't forget our heritage and the need to create connections with people around us. If not embraced, I fear the future of true human physical connection.