Dear (name), Eid Mubarak!

This eid, my mother got an sms greeting from my aunt’s number. It was signed “From Sobia”... Funny thing is, that’s not my aunt’s name.

This eid, my mother got an sms from my aunt’s number. It was signed “From Sobia”.

Funny thing is, that’s not my aunt’s name.

Upon further inquiry, we found out that my aunt had really liked that particular message and had forwarded it as eid greetings to everybody in her phone book, without bothering to change the name.

Welcome to the age of automated emotional bonds. Thanks to technology, “Send to all” will be the weapon of choice for every occasion. I predict that very soon, phone manufacturers will simply build an “Auto-wish” feature into their cell phones. Right out of the box, your cell phone will be programmed to send out pre-saved generic text messages such as “Eid Mubarak”, “Happy New Year” and even “Chand Mubarak” during the appropriate days to everybody in your phone book. Ah, the convenience of automation.

‘Be social without even trying’ can be the tagline.