I do the texting thing. It is often helpful and easy, but the one word answer and briefness of the enterprise are often unsatisfying to me. Say I send a package, for example. I get a text back saying they got it. But I never know if they liked it. Say I text back "how did you like it?" or "Did it fit?"
One word response again. Not gratifying.
I not only have to figure out what to send, I have to figure out how they might really feel about it and whether they actually liked it. Mind reading, the inaccurate version! Gift giving was loaded before, but at least you got information of some sort in a thank you note, and if you never received a note, you could decide not to send anything again.
Now, there is a hollowness to gift giving. I enjoy giving to my cronies, because we all come from the thank you note generation. I can read between the lines and know if the gift was a hit or a miss. I am acknowledged: my effort, the thought that went into my selection, the timeliness, etc. It's fun giving gifts to each other.
But gift giving has lost its reciprocity and engagement for younger people. It's something owed them, and barely acknowledged as their due. I'm sure they have their own rituals and ways of enjoying gifting, but I can't quite figure out what they are. I am, after all, a geezer.
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