Internet, SMS easy, quick services to send greetings

Wishing New Year was never as easy as it has become now due to the advent of technology where people just pressed a button in order to wish their loved ones the good luck to be followed on coming year.

The internet and mobile phones have fast replaced the tradition of sending post cards and greeting cards, which is why there were just a few shops that bothered to display the cards of Happy New Year.

SMS being the most popular and cheap way of communication was largely adopted by the people where the messages comprising New Year wishes, quotes and poetry was forwarded to the dear and near ones in a large number.

“Its something really convenient to send a good message by a single click rather than purchasing a post card and posting it while spending a good sum of money and time,” said Shams-ul-Hassan.

Hassan said that it was not only the matter of time, but one has to take hassle by purchasing card days before the event and then making it sure that it has been received by the concerned person on time. People started sending new year messages from early morning of December 31, but the process gained momentum after evening where most of the mobile networks got jammed around 12.

“I intended to send New Year wish to all my friend at sharp 12:00 midnight, but to my utter disappointment I could only manage to send it at 1:00 a.m., as I was getting the message of ‘message sending failed’ each time I tried to send it,” said Nooria Ahsan, a student of BBA.

Ms Ahsan said that SMS were the true substitute of post cards and greeting cards rather it was better as it was fast, cheap and reliable.

Besides that people also sent greetings through internet via email and face book. “It is the quickest way to wish besides that it costs nothing,” said Usman Murtaza.

Murtaza said that internet was a convenient way of wishing some occasion as one could easily browse the suitable messages through the various websites and send it to the relevant person. However there are number of people who do not consider the technology as a substitute of fast declining tradition of greeting cards. “The pleasure of receiving some greeting cards was unexplainable, which can’t be achieved by thousands of SMS and emails that we receive on the occasions like new year,” said Ghousia Bangash, a housewife.

She said that the real feel of celebration was only felt when they used to head towards market to buy the greeting cards for the loved ones and would post it and then would wait for the cards to be received by them. “The joy of opening, reading and then decorating these cards was unimaginable,” she argued.

The new year messages that started from December 31 continued till the evening of January 1, which not only included the prayers for the receiver, but also prayers for the stability and progress of Pakistan.LINK