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When messages – both typed and voice – can be exchanged instantaneously, warmth and sincerity are at risk of disappearing. Sadly, these are the two things that make communicating with one another feel so fulfilling. Words on a screen, especially from people you barely know, can come across as cold and impersonal. Voice messages – even from your contacts – are geared towards efficiency. Why type/tap when you can yak a phrase or two to get your point across? Messaging is easy, but it is devoid of true interaction (Image: kuu akura, Unsplash) Convenience comes at a cost We're all managing our time (and mana) so that we have energy to still do whatever we love to do at the end of the workday. We all take shortcuts. But when it comes to communicating, the easy way isn't always the best way. The reason we meet our friends in person is because nothing beats being physically present. Face-to-face interactions mean we get nuances in conversations. When we're with friends, the connection feels genuine because we're unconsciously reading body language and facial expressions. They reinforce whatever our friends are telling us. Conversely, body language also gives away when someone is lying to us. In person, you can feel someone's warmth. Or if they're not in a good mood, you can still sense the sincerity in the points they're trying to make. Either way, these face-to-face interactions are a welcome respite from staring at a person's name on a screen while watching or waiting for new lines of text appear. (Image: Maria Lin Kim, Unsplash) Conveying sincerity Digitalisation has made us search for sincerity. Be it in words or actions, we're increasingly seeking offline human connections. 'Analogue' interactions are becoming precious – even to younger generations used to the instantaneousness of the always on, always connected world. Instead of messaging your colleague who sits at the other end of the office, why not walk over to disturb them? Play games in person rather than online. Don't just stay home streaming shows while doomscrolling; arrange to meet your friends and do some catching-up in person. Speaking of which, if you want to ask people to a social gathering, invite them properly. Don't send a calendar invite unless you're organising a business meeting. A short e-mail or message that declares your intentions will clearly convey warmth and sincerity, which are becoming a rare commodity these days. – Jeremy (Main image: Brett Jordan, Unsplash)

One of the key issues that wasn't raised up during this GE (in my 1 cent opinion) is the declining birth rate in Singapore. Now i am no economist here, but from what i can gather, we basically have a declining birth rate and unable to replace the population organically, resulting in an ageing population. Personally i'm quite sceptical that immigrants are a good long term solution to the ageing population because of attrition issues. I was quite surprised when i read that Singapore had one of the highest debt:GDP ratios, though it's largely public debt. Japan is the leader in this area - highest public debt in the world (basically Govt owes people monies, largely in healthcare and retirement related monies to my limited understanding), and here we are No. 7 in the World, largely due to the CPF monies owed to Singaporeans. Many of the Asian societies are not different. Japan was the first in Asia to become a developed economy - highly competitive, increasing pressures on the younger generation to perform, consequent declining birth rates, a system which catered for the people and the elderly. When property bubbled to epic proportions in the 90s and eventually decoupled, they entered a massive deflationary spiral which still exists today, and public debt swells to immense proportions, interest rates stay perennially low, currency strength stays weak and property does not recover. We can look at China, the new and rising super-power of the world: 1. One child policy since time immemorial, and inevitably (cos you always take 2 persons of opposite gender to produce a child in a monogamous and faithful society) the population ages rapidly 2. Property prices are in a bubble. What then happens once the economy cools? Headed for the way of Japan and the US? In Singapore, we have a much smaller and more vulnerable economy. We do not produce cost effective performance cars like the Evolution or the GTR. We do not have the world's most vibrant adult industry (we have gaming though). We do not have the mass market exemplified by a population of 1 billion Chinese citizens. So, how to address the issue of the ageing population? The only true blue solution is to increase the birth rate. Couples need to produce at least more than 2 children each. More kids than parents = more productive adults in the future = more CPF monies contribution = static retirement ages and minimum sums = if you really want to retire as an average Singaporean, better have more kids!!! Of coz, tis a fine balance. I personally am sworn off kids, so tis a genuine irony i highlight this for discussion. But it's clear to me from a macroscopic perspective that the declining birth rate is an issue that needs to be fixed in the longer term, which cannot be replaced by the influx of immigrants. Hypothetically, can you imagine if all Singaporeans absolutely refused to have kids, what will happen when the youngest generation are all 80 years old (and there is no next generation) - would anyone bother to own properties, stocks or cars or anything at all?? Massive deflation, practically like a supernova impending formation of a black hole. Seriosuly, how to encourage Singaporeans to have more kids???