How technology reinvented the wheel on Valentine’s Day

In the past Market Talk, I looked at how over-reliance on technology has killed meaningful conversations. I highlighted how we are bringing up a generation that would rather text than talk.

I also mentioned studies have found that couples who have a TV in their bedrooms tend to share less connecting time compared to those without as they fight for the remote control.

This was based on a study that found that such couples hide their frustrations in the ‘box’ instead of talking about them.

That article sparked debate with some people believing that technology has enhanced conversations more than it has destroyed them.

Looking at technology as an enabler, let’s review what happened during last week’s Valentine’s Day. I noticed that the popular hotels and restaurants in Nairobi posted good sales.

Many couples who hadn’t booked in advance were turned away in the most sought after venues. Most bookings were made through mobile phone or e-mails and the dinner plans were confirmed through SMSs.

Many couples used their smartphones and Google maps to navigate through Nairobi’s traffic and post updates on social media.

In one restaurant, I noticed many couples kept looking at their phones as they waited for the busy waiters to serve them. This was one way of finding what to talk about as one would share an interesting fact from the Internet or check how some exotic foods on the menu tastes.

There is a Ugandan lady who is currently trending on the social media; her techniques to make a reluctant guy to propose marriage would have been a refreshing joke for a Valentine’s Day date.

Some couples in long distance relationships had dates via Skype, cutting the expensive travel costs like many businesses have been doing.

In a technology article posted on CNN, Breeanna Hare argues that texting is not necessarily unromantic and you may find more romantic messages on your inbox than you normally get during pillow talks.

Ms Hare notes that texting is considered to be the bare minimum communication in a relationship while more face-to-face approaches are still considered important in expressing deep feelings.

It is also likely to get into a heated text conversation that may sometimes lead to a text proposal. Many businesses also capitalised on the day to advance their offerings through the new technologies.

Airtel had the 'digitally yours campaign' where couples would win romantic prizes for expressing their love digitally. Travel companies also sent millions of romantic packages to their customers.

Safaricom reduced smartphones prices and perhaps recorded higher M-Pesa transfers compared to other days as cash gifts were exchanged. All these offers and technologies allowed many to add spice to the day.

In some cases, technology does it better than the traditional modes of communication. A new media company Wong Fu Productions in California has created a video series featuring instances where technology can solve romantic challenges.

The series titled, “How technology ruined romance” features situations like a guy who sent so many letters to his loved one that were all returned to sender.

He did this for a long time until his girlfriend got married to another man, evidence of all the returned letters could not save the day when he finally meets the girl. The annoyed girl argues that instead of sending letters to her old uncle’s address he should have just sent her a message on Facebook.

Another man finds a stranger in his wife’s residence on returning from abroad. He later learns that she moved house sometime back, his intention to surprise her backfires. These and many other examples like the ones illustrated earlier are the dividends of technology in relationships.

It is also said that technology has demystified romance in that you can find so much information about a person on the net and in social media.
You can find where they have been and what they have been up to especially if they are actively engaging in the new media.

I am now persuaded to conclude that technology has redefined relationships more than it has destroyed them.

Mr Ngahu is the marketing director of SBO Research. E-mail: [email protected], Twitter @bngahu