Shafaq News– Baghdad

In an age where affection is measured in notifications, digital greeting messages have become a fixture of Iraq’s social calendar. They arrive instantly — bright, animated, and effortless — delivering acknowledgment at the tap of a screen. Yet their spread has reopened a deeper question: whether speed and convenience are quietly eroding the intimacy that once defined human connection.

For Umm Hadi, a 66-year-old retired teacher, the contradiction is personal. On the eve of every religious or social occasion, her phone fills with messages from children, grandchildren, and friends. “They make me happy,” she says, “but they also make me sad.” Many, she explains, are identical templates, forwarded designs that feel less like expressions of care and more like obligations fulfilled.

Living alone after her children married and moved out, Umm Hadi has learned to distinguish between messages. A short line written deliberately, she says, carries more warmth than a cascade of animated cards. “A few sincere words,” she adds, “mean someone actually thought of me.”

That distinction resonates with Samer al-Tahhami, a mid-level government official who receives dozens of electronic greetings during holidays and commemorations. While he acknowledges their polite intent, he believes they fall short of a phone call, a voice note, or a personal text. “Direct contact shows genuine interest,” he says. “Digital greetings often reflect convenience, or sometimes calculation.”

Al-Tahhami argues that the deep integration of communication technology into daily life has reshaped both formal and informal relationships. Electronic messaging now dominates professional and social exchanges, but the shift has cooled family ties in particular. In his view, the greatest beneficiaries are not individuals but telecom companies and app developers, who convert social rituals into recurring revenue streams.

From a psychological perspective, the shift is complex. Sanaa al-Dagestani, a psychology professor, notes that electronic greetings can boost morale and reinforce a sense of being remembered, especially when distance makes in-person contact impossible. Their speed and reach allow people to maintain wide networks with minimal effort.

But the drawbacks are increasingly visible. When digital messages replace real interaction, al-Dagestani warns, they can foster loneliness — especially among older adults living alone — by offering what she describes as “synthetic warmth.” Unlike a voice or a visit, automated greetings lack emotional depth, weakening social bonds and diminishing shared values over time. She advises near-daily phone contact with close family and friends as a safeguard for emotional well-being.

Between efficiency and sincerity, Iraqi society, like much of the world, is renegotiating the meaning of connection. Technology has not eliminated communication; it has reshaped it, imposing a faster, flatter rhythm on human relationships. Whether digital greetings remain a helpful supplement or harden into a lasting substitute for face-to-face connection is a question still unfolding — one notification at a time.