Being a better friend
Over on the Obsidian subreddit, I found this post:
How Obsidian helps me be a better friend and family member
To summarize, the user has created a system to keep track of their interactions with friends and family (including detailed notes), with reminders to get in touch with them on various schedules. As I read through the post, I went from one reaction to another.
At first I thought that this system was overboard, and should not be necessary. We should be able to keep in touch with people we care about without an electronic reminder system. It's inauthentic and defeats the purpose of trying to be a better friend.
As I read through, my reaction shifted. No, this actually is a good idea. I am terrible at keeping up with people. I barely wish people happy birthday on Facebook anymore (I actually do not really like doing this unless it's closer family & friends, I'm not one to wish a random person I happen to be friends with happy birthday...and also for really close friends I will probably text directly). There are probably many people with whom I've lost touch, without even sending the occasional email. Would a system like this help me? Perhaps.
It was encouraging to read the bulk of the comments were supportive of the OP and both contributed to the system and took suggestions themselves. There was precisely one negative comment that nobody in the thread agreed with. It's still there, the user has not taken to deleting it and is instead suffering the loss of imaginary Internet Points.
Will I actually implement this system, or something similar? In theory I am excited about the notion of something like this and will rush to set up a new folder and get started, but in reality I doubt I will. At least, not now, not until I have time set aside to do this on one of my laptops as opposed to doing it from my phone.
Anyway I like the idea and will be saving this post for a a time down the road.