The Last Generation That Lived Before the Scroll (My Old-soul Twinkle)

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Disclaimer: “My Old-soul Twinkle,” is my heartfelt attempt to capture the endless stream of thoughts racing through my mind. At times, these musings may seem confusing—or even a little "out there"—but I genuinely welcome your counterpoints and insights. Dive in and share your thoughts.


Sometimes I feel like the 1980s and 90s had a secret ingredient.

No, life was not perfect back then. People had problems. Families argued. Jobs were stressful. Money was often tight. But somehow, those grainy photographs of the era reflects that the emotions were real. Old stories from grandparents make the relationships felt less edited. Smiles were not waiting for likes. Friendships did not need Wi-Fi to survive.

Back then, if someone visited our house, they actually came to meet us with no background of where we had gone for lunch, or about our last trip. They just visited, and we had so much to share and talk and discuss. Just a ringing doorbell and papa shouting, “dekho kaun aya hai” .

That was progress, apparently.

Today, one birthday party can produce 500 photos and 20 reels. We spend more time choosing a caption than experiencing the event itself. Sometimes I wonder: Are we making memories, or are we “manufacturing evidence” that memories happened, leading to “the great competition” era…

Social media has quietly turned life into a never-ending sports tournament.

Someone visits Goa. Someone visits Greece. Someone posts a promotion. Someone posts a promotion with better lighting. And suddenly people who were perfectly content yesterday are made to feel unsuccessful today. The constant judgment in both reel and real is turning toxic.

Nature never behaves this way.

A tree does not compete with another tree because it grew three feet taller. A river does not update its followers about every kilometer covered. The moon never worries about engagement metrics. Yet humans, the most intelligent species, seem exhausted from constantly comparing themselves with everyone else and making them “professional-rude”.

Another thing that I am dreadfully missing these days is a sincere conversation, I guess a luxury.

I remember days of disagreement in “open”. Today many conversations feel carefully managed. We have started to maintain different versions of ourselves for different audiences.

One face for work.

One face for social media.

One face for relatives.

One face for strangers.

After a while, even we forget which one is real.

The result is loneliness in a crowded world. Not because people are absent. Because authenticity is absent.

The 80s and 90s were not magical because life was easier. They were memorable because people often showed up as themselves. Perhaps what we need today is not a return to the past, but a return to those values: sincerity, loyalty, honest conversation, and genuine human connection.

The future does not need fewer machines. It needs more humans.

And maybe that starts with something as simple as looking up from a screen and truly seeing the person sitting across from us.

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