Talking of the trends today...a multitude of online contests like #CallYourMom and Mother’s Day campaigns by brands, with videos and an emotional message do the rounds, of our social networks. Some leading to social pressure for those who can’t express openly…and with the amount of excitement these celebrations create and how much the audiences participate, we can guess that we have ‘evolved as people’ with our evolving mindsets, whenever we share a social message!
It is needless to mention, that today’s digitalisation merged with a generation defined by ‘millennials’ has kind-of transformed the way we perceive or manage our close relationships. We have fortunately or unfortunately, but very ‘conveniently’ shifted our communication to the digital platform...with text messages, whatsapp and other digital means! Sharing a gamut of pictures of celebrations is a common sight on social media, these days! And of course, innumerable instances like these, are found on almost all the social online platforms you name.
It is very surprising but heartening at the same time, to see everyone being expressive about their beloved family, friends and chummy relationships, including mothers on mother's day... An expression that used to be just personal has soon gone out, for the world to witness! Isn’t the digital-world turning out to be the most convenient place to celebrate? And don’t we all come across some or the other Facebookers, Instagrammers, Snap-chatters or the Twiterrati, who find joy in sharing their fond memories with their mothers, on this much-celebrated day? From their childhood pics with their mums, ‘selfies and videos’ complementing the flowery messages, to their fun ‘boomerang’ clips et all…there is a lot that is being put out for everyone! And of course, it is amazing to witness the kind of admiration that follows, for these posts. Friends and relatives shower their love further on the sugary pics, like there is another festival being celebrated virtually. Instances like these go on to prove how social media has evolved as a space, where it is not just easy to express your views, but to also get extremely vocal about your feelings…to put your manifesto, to the world (Read: public). This, to the point of opening-up about your thoughts you could never express, in-person.
Well, there are several schools of thought on ‘celebrations’, where one is about why it is important to celebrate mother's day in real, by spending time with our mothers ‘in person’ and not just by merely greeting them or by expressing affection in the virtual space. And the other school of thought is about why we must celebrate this day at all, advocating the fact that 'everyday can be Mother’s Day'! So I’d say, what we need to realise is that our ‘concept of celebration’ of relationships, Mother’s Day or any special day for that matter, is 'subjective'. We all equally love our mothers on any other given day…but whether we like to celebrate it alone with them, in an online space or celebrate this day at all…is our personal choice!
Our style of ‘expression’ is invariably defined by our emotions, our personality and our general perspective about relationships and life. And while a set of ‘expressive people’ has the best intentions at heart, they put their personal life out for public scrutiny. Then the other set of ‘inexpressive people’ plays spectators to the whole celebration...the touching messages might turn many ‘socially awkward penguins’ uneasy, questioning themselves (and others)! But they need to realise that we have all made our choices, to be open about our feelings and pampering our loved ones.
We may love our moms equally on any given day but if we’ve got our chance to express ourselves openly, why not!
And hence…to all you loving mothers, daughters and sons…let’s put all our hearts out and celebrate Mothers' Day!
‘Every day or on a special day, online or offline is your choice, after all!’ :)
