Heartfelt videos in times of Reels

 

It was my brother’s 40^th birthday in the year 2017. To make it special, I collected several photos of him, wrote a funny verse, found an apt song, and made a video of three minutes and thirty seconds. I uploaded the video on YouTube for easy sharing. That video had 200+ views and gained a lot of praise.

Yesterday, it was his wife’s 40^th. I love her even more and so I made an even better video for her with several songs, pictures, and even short clips of her dancing in between. It took me a long time to make this four minute thirty second video. So far, it has 40 views and, obviously, very little praise.

What has changed in the last five years? It is certainly not my talent – I combine perfect words with pictures and songs. On thinking about this unfortunate statistic, I realized that we are living in the times of twenty second stories, thirty second Reels, forty second Tik Tok videos, and one minute YouTube shorts.

We desire quick entertainment even though if you look at your mobile phone consumption, it has increased by leaps and bounds. We want to read our news in 280 characters on Twitter and not long essays describing everything in detail. We want to ‘read’ a book on Audible while we walk so that our time is utilized well.

I wonder how Ekta Kapoor is still managing twenty seasons of the same television series! Maybe, this is a trend for millennials and beyond. The boomers who watch news channels with repeated breaking news multiple times a day still have attention span that lasts longer than thirty seconds.

Technology is reducing our attention span and how. We require instant gratification. If we desire a food item, we have an application that will deliver it to us within minutes to satisfy our craving. We don’t have to wait for the weekend, we don’t have to drive, we don’t need to step out – it’s instant. If we don’t check our phones for a couple of hours, wee feel uneasy and anxious. Our mental health is going for a toss!

Coming back to decreased attention span, I am sure it is affecting our cognitive abilities. Do you remember a thirty second reel for someone’s birthday? You wouldn’t. But if you saw a five-minute video for a friend’s special occasion, it might be able to make an impact and you might remember it for years to come. It just goes on to say that we watch these short clips with an absent mind and never register what is said in them. While when we watch a longer video, we pay more attention and remember it for a long time.

Now I don’t have studies to prove it, I am sure Harvard, Yale and Columbia must be on it! But I can surely say it from experience that my failing memory is not just a consequence of aging – it is this desire for short gratification time and reduced patience for anything worth its while which gives my mind less time to register anything that it can memorize.

No, I am not old school to make four and half minute videos. I am just trying to give our generation a moment to think about what they are doing to their mental and cognitive abilities. Think smarter people, think smarter and use technology to your benefit.

2011 to 2021 - 29 to 39 A decade well travelled!

 I have been wondering what to write in my decade post since the end of 2020. 1.5 years later, I know exactly what to write. I already know what I will be writing in my 2030 post though.

When I was younger, I never thought I would get married. In the 90's, a girl with certain health issues was destined to remain single and live alone. The joke about living with cats also came in very late, I would have been a happier kid had I known I will have a certain feline for company. 

Anyway, when I did get married, I had no expectations of travel. In the sad 90's, my sojourns were restricted to Nainital, Dadi house, and Nani house. Thank God my grandmothers lived in different cities than mine, otherwise Pinki, Billu and Chacha Choudhary would have severely restricted world view.

2011 - I was exhilarated when the Boy and I decided to go to Europe in 2011. I thought it will be my first and who knows, last trip to the beautiful continent. I insisted on going to France and Switzerland because I wanted to see the best places first lest I never went back. That was the start of the wonderful adventure we embarked upon and we have never looked back.

2012 - The Boy had started a new job and so we decided to take it easy and went to Turkey. Istanbul was one hyped city I did not like.

2013 - Since we were scared we might not get to travel much in life, we ventured into the U.S. of A! I loved the beauty of California and the unabashed Vegas. New York wasn't for the small town people like us - but I want to go again to like it!.

2014 - This was the luckiest year of our life in many ways. We won a free trip to Bangladesh for a Cricket World Cup final. The trip was like no other. We then went to Austria to give our parents a taste of beautiful Europe. It was the first and last time I cooked meals on a trip. We can eat almost anything and survive on outside food for months, but the elderly parents needed ghar ka khana and I was a good daughter-in-law! Our third trip this year was to Greece with friends. Santorini was beautiful but ruined by glorifying sunsets and hordes of tourists (like us!). We won a lot of lucky draws in 2014 and also bought our first luxury car. Ah, such an amazing year!

2015 - We went to Cyprus in the summer of 2015. We swam in the beach every single day and consider it one of our best trips. We also went to Amsterdam, Black Forest and Munich for Oktoberfest this year. I tried magic mushrooms and marijuana and the joy of being lost in thought and mountains. All these three places remain our favourite. 2015 was a triumphant year!

2016 - Portugal was a hidden gem that found a place in our hearts, Spain was a tad over-rated but Ibiza did live up to the hype. But the best part of 2016 was our impromptu trip to Prague. The beauty of that city is etched in my heart forever and it is my favourite city in the world.

2017 - This was a tough year for me. I became weaker and discovered that only when I could not walk a lot in my travels. Everything had suddenly become more difficult and it made me cry several times in Croatia. Dubrovnik was a joy, and Hvar island remains a place with one of our fondest memories of sleeping at the ferry terminal! We also took a 26-hour flight and travelled across oceans to St. Kitts and Nevis, Antigua and Barbuda, Jamaica and Miami. Our love for Bob Marley was born.

2018 - We took a leap of faith and went for cruise to the Baltics. 13 days on a ship with seven ports and three days in St. Petersburg went by in a jiffy and left us craving for more. We dream of  cruises now and hopefully will return to them soon enough.

2019 - I took my first girls trip to Amsterdam. It was a nightmare!! My health makes me anxious and things weren't easy. I hope I can break that feeling and go back with my girls who insist on taking me again! We went to U.K and Ireland this year as well. Watching the Cricket World Cup in the mecca of cricket was an experience I will never forget. We went to Jindal Naturecure in Bangalore and learnt so much about our health and eating. And then, we went to Prague again and fell in love with every single minute there.

2020 - Little did we know this year will be a tough one. Since we did not travel to a foreign destination, we moved to the suburbs leaving a fun filled apartment life. We are village people now and like it in many ways. We miss the hustle bustle of the city and miss it a lot too! We did go to Goa which is a leap year tradition and we wouldn't have missed it for Corona!!

2021 - We went to our favourite Black Forest and discovered the joy of doing nothing in Budapest. It was one of the best trips also because it was after a long hiatus. Yes, we have been to Europe several times but its so gorgeous that I would go there year after year and not feel bored.

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I consider myself very lucky that I can travel so much. We go to India atleast twice a year and visit Dubai often. Travelling from Bahrain is not easy - it requires long flights and expensive tickets since air travel isn't cheap here. Yes, we spend a lot of money on this but it is how we relish every year of our life. We plan to spend more and more and invest in these memories for best returns in our old age. I leave a piece of my heart wherever I go and give flying kisses to the hotels. I don't miss my bed or friends or anything. Travel with the Boy is easily my most favourite thing and hence, this decade was amazing beyond words!