This morning as I was commuting on the train, the thought hit me that I will finally be celebrating Chinese New Year(CNY) with my family again after 3 long years away from home. Growing up, CNY has always been very deeply rooted in our family tradition. It’s a yearly event in which most of my extended family members would gather in Penang. Not celebrating it for a few years with family in some ways change my attitude and practice towards this family tradition. I no longer feel the need to buy new clothes for it. I feel excited about it for very different reason compared to I was a kid. I guess it’s just part of growing up.

Technology has slipped so deeply into my life that I can’t imagine myself one day without them. Being a productivity freak, I can’t imagine a day without Wunderlist/Reminder, Evernote/Notes and Dropbox/GoogleDrive syncing seamlessly. (yes my life nearly fell apart when Wunderlist had a system breakdown in September 2016) CRM helps me track my communication effectively. Digital media and blogs allow me to read, learn and share my view. Social media let me stay in touch with my family and friends instantaneously. They are my productivity hacks. While technology changes habits and makes our life a lot easier and more productive, it has changed how we look live, interact and behave.

And traditions will be affected as well. In some ways.

I am quite an optimist and I always think that we will get to a cashless future. Payments are made digitally via mobile (or whatever that device will be called in the future). Transfer of money will be paperless and just with a few clicks. We no longer will involve paper in any transaction.

But at the same time, how will CNY look like then? As usual, WeChat is full of great ideas. Digital Red Packet had been in their line of products for a couple of years now and it’s very well received by its users. Is this going to be the future of Red Packet if we eventually go cashless? Or is this just a gimmick by the younger generations? I am not sure. As much as I love the way technology had made my life a lot easier, part of me still resists the idea of traditional practice being uprooted due to technological advances.

Anyway, will set this thought aside and let it simmer – while I enjoy my first CNY in a long while!

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