Just yesterday, we celebrated Friendship day. A day which embarks the special bond of the family we chose for ourselves, more commonly known as, friends.
Alas, friendship is not what it used to be. Squad goals and Goa trips are how we define friendship today. Our parents had the chance of living in the golden era of strict parents and a smartphone-less world. It was the time when friendships were not based on how many road trips we can take or how many memes can we tag our friends in. It was rather how many canteen trips we can take with them between the classes or how many jokes we can crack at the back of our teachers.
I don’t deny the existence of such pure bonds today but the social age is on its way to make these bonds rare, extinct-like rare. Friendship day today is how many pictures we are tagged in, or how many WhatsApp wishes we receive. It is a day when you sweet talk to people who haven’t been in touch for months, only to disappear again. It is a day to click pictures, upload them on social media, and express our infinite love for them using emotional quotes and novel-worthy stories.
But is it really friendship?
To have to express our love in front of hundreds rather enjoying the silent private moments, is it really what we call true bond?
‘Friends’, the popular American sitcom, in its own comical humorous way, depicts what friendship used to be like. How friendship was not talking to each other every day but to be there when needed. How it wasn’t about creating good memories but being a part of bad memories too, how it wasn’t about gifts and letters expressing our love, but lazy talks and food.
The generation today yearns for such friendship, yearns for the best part of it, but cannot handle the hardships that come along. The result? New best friends every year, more outings every month, and more status updates every day.
A friendship is when you don’t talk for years, but when you meet, they are all who matters. I saw a living example of such friendship a couple of years back. My father met his school friend, a friend from some thirty years back. He met that friend after sixteen years. Yet, there were no awkward silences but non-stop talk, old school stories and unlimited jokes. There were no grudges but the happiness of meeting after such a long time. They looked like friends, they were friends.
Today, you don’t talk to a friend for a week, and you might just lose him to a stupid ego problem. Facebook did help people reconnect or stay in touch with those far away. But we made it into a portal where one can show off how many friends he has or just how perfect his friendship is.
The day we require others’ attention or approval, it isn’t a friendship but a 21st-century joke played on us by the society. I learned this lesson a hard way. I haven’t been lucky in having friendships as true as that of my parents. But I do believe that breaking these social chains is a possibility. We can enter a space where there is no acceptance but few people who can talk and laze around while eating two pizzas on a Friday night without alerting Snapchat or disturbing Facebook. Now, that is my #SquadGoal.
PS: Feel free to share your ‘true-bond’ stories here.