Screens Apart

Dear Followers,

You may lack faces but you thrive nonetheless with your nonsensical names and witty interactions. The distance between us is, at most, astronomical, and at best, unknown. Yet you are closer to me than the neighbours I've shared a wall with for nearly a year and the value you have inherited is immeasurable - not as to say it is unquantifiably large but as to say it has an importance that stands outside the common metric of measurement for social interaction. We’ve never truly met, never shared a room in more than context and conversation, yet you know me better, and visit more often, than those I share blood with.

There is a generational disconnect between understanding the potential of internet connections paired with a screen - the manner in which we found each other - and despising the very existence of it. I have found folks condemning online interactions with the likes of lead paint and flare-bottom jeans, where they can find no more value in them than we can a car without its parts.

Truth be told this platform is a gateway, an arching potential of untapped interactions that lead to a complex and wholesome format of interaction. Sure it lacks the warmth of a welcome hug and the awkwardness of a prolonged goodbye but it gains the accessibility of maintainable friendships from continents and time-zones apart.

There are those of you who know me by a name that is nearly never spoken aloud but there are some nights where it feels more truthful than the one I was born with. We often share hours together, hours filled with stories and laughter that the light of day will never see, and that is precious to me.

So I guess I wrote this to say thank you, and see you next time you're online.

Yours sincerely, obsidian_is_here.