When communication wasn’t instant but effective!

In the age of instant communication – the lack of response, acknowledgement and failure to reach out to people is quite simply distressing!

In the mid-1980s, when I was just out of school, summer holidays meant whiling time with friends playing cricket all day. One of the good things about those days was how everyone knew where anyone was, almost at all times. We could contact the entire team to inform the next day's match venue and opponent with ease. Well, I am speaking of days when there was no telephone - not even the good old land line.

The network was simple- inform one of the mates who connects to three-four others and the communication is done. Then as we got into college - there were the various 'Adda'. Typically the Irani cafe hangouts. Good Luck Cafe Safilguda or Akbar at Paradise or Sun Cafe in Tarnaka or many such addas across the twin cities- you knew exactly where to find the gang or one or two of the representatives. While these were there, there was no beating the simple staright go visit friend's home - scream out names from outside the gate rather than knock on the door, what better way to communicate than in person! I remember when a friend once called me to his home and I found a locked door, I just left a message scribbled on piece of paper that had lasting effect - the apologetic dost rushed home on seeing the note that read "I came, I saw, I vent!". Messages were innovative, crisp and clear, they were not instant but they were effective.

Among other modes of communication was the fixed messenger - the owner/manager of the Adda - the one who sits in the Cafe counter all day - passes on the message.

Then as we got into jobs in the early 1990s - there was the office phone - and the friendly telephone operator who always took a message from mates. Soon there were residential landline phones and messages, match schedules, movie plans, meeting spots were conveyed to whoever manned the phones at homes.

During the mid-1990s was launched a small device with a screen that carried scrolling text - it was called a Pager. Just like the mobile phone which came later, it would display text messages to a maximum of 150 characters. A revolution of sorts for most of us sales guys who could be reached with messages on the move. Messages ranged from come home early, contact boss, meet client, cricket match time, date, venue to lunch dinner, party plans.

I still remember one of messages to a friend who borrowed my bike helmet and didn't return it for a week. It read "I'm worried about my head and it's time I had it covered, you could help" - That evening my helmet reached home with a note – ‘You scared me’!

While mobiles phones made their presence in our lives in late-1990, they were expensive and calls were mostly incoming and then there was the 'Missed call' - an effective tool too!

While the Millennium brought much changes in the communication technology, the advent of social media across platforms and the internet data going economical - things turned on their head.

We are in the age of instant communication - where you reach any corner of the earth in matter of seconds, broadcast happenings, share opinion, contact multiple people at the push of a button - all instantaneously!

But then… wait…!

I started this piece of writing to rant about the abject lack of acknowledgement of the Millennial to messages – In the age of the ‘twin blue ticks’ we have the procrastinators with the abject disregard for accepted norms of communication - two-way communication.

Digressing a bit, I have seen unread emails pile up in thousands. I actually saw a colleague with 33,000 unread mails in his Yahoo Inbox. He said most of them were unsolicited marketing mails. Simply because he subscribed to mail lists and left the inbox untouched for many days. Well, one can never catch up on that, and you got there with bad habits. The easiest solution is to unsubscribe from lots of lists, disable email alerts from social media, set up filters, decide what email you care about and only read that. The remaining just delete them all! For the record – I never ever leave an unread email in my Inbox. I have an OCD for Zero Inbox.

Coming back to my rant! The instant communication through platforms like SMS or Messenger or the craze of the nation – Whatsapp is not really as instant as we think they are, these days.

Why do people not respond to messages, not all times it’s about money (not just soliciting, but failing to return too) - sometimes simple requests for help go unheeded.  Have you heard of Whatsapp with 5000 unread messages from about 40 odd contacts lying for months? I am appalled to hear of people with thousands (yes, tens of thousands in some cases) unattended notifications on their mobile screens. Why can’t we be frugal in maintaining zero unread notifications? Most of these are from Apps that have been installed for the heck of it, on the move. These apps are fighting for your time.

It appears these Apps are taking advantage of neurological weak spots. A lot of people don't seem to be able to even figure out how to slow down or stop the notifications to a more manageable level. Procrastination is not the solution.  

Just go to that message from the well-wisher  – Someone who took time to wish you on your special day, ignore it or acknowledge it, but don’t leave it unread. You never would want to be in a similar situation, some day!