Are Relationships Going Weaker?

The way I behave, and the world I see with my own eyes, makes me wonder whether our love for others—and relationships in general—are weakening. Is that how you observer too?

When my grandparents, aunts, and uncles spoke to me during my childhood, I could feel the love and closeness—the sense that we were all one family. I could clearly see the immense love my father had for my mother. I could see the care he had for us three brothers, for the values he wanted to instil in us, and later, the affection he held for his grandchildren.

I am not confident I experience that same depth of feeling with others in my own circle today. And I see this reflected in others as well.

I often wonder whether we have gone too far with materialism and living overly busy lives.

There was a time when I used to call my parents and in-laws even when international calls cost USD 1.50 per minute. Despite how expensive that was relative to salaries then, we still made those calls for every important occasion. To minimise the expense, we planned our sentences in advance.

Today, when calls are essentially free, we don’t even call to wish a simple New Year greeting.

I used to have short yet regular calls with my parents. My sons and I talk for hours each time we speak—when we are both available. And that is precisely the point. 

Our priorities with time are not set right.

Sometimes we have time to connect with the world, but not with our families and near friends. I don’t pick up the phone and call my children, assuming they will be busy—or that I am.

We seem to have all the time in the world to follow, in great detail, what is happening on the other side of the globe—among people who may not even be distinctly related to us. Yet we don’t connect with our near and dear more often.

How did we get so busy, after all?

What exactly are our priorities?

I find tears in my eyes when I watch people suffering on television—whether in documentaries or even fictional movies. Yet when similar suffering happens within my own family or among friends, I sometimes shrug it off, thinking, “That’s life. Suffering is inherent in life.”

Is this reaction because of the dramatic presentation in movies and documentaries? Or have I gradually become more detached from my own family and friends?

Does this resonate with you, and with the people you come across these days?

Is it materialism and constant distraction—or has our connected world quietly loosened real human connections?