Free Hugs.

Last Sunday I attended a small comic convention. Apart from the usual cosplayers (look it up), nerds, Star Wars Geeks, Star Trek Gods (not too many but still they rule), tweens and teenagers... I stumbled on a movement that seems a little bit weird. What, pray tell did I see, loads of times? Free hugs.

This is just a post so people can answer me because I have a couple of questions. I agree that the movement started by a viral video made for a guy that had lost his grandmother and was in dire need of love. I totally can understand his motive. When the video got bigger in the net, the movement changed. It turned into the basic idea that some people out there had lost human contact of some sort and some people out there started giving it back to those who needed it. Perfect, I'm still understanding.

This "Free Hugs" movement, mostly seen in any type of Comic Con gathering is a bit more... weird. LOADS of teenagers are writing on the next piece of paper that they can get their hands on this simple message. They run around the con hugging left and right. I watched them for hours last Sunday, but I did remember having seen this in other bigger cons. Hm.

What can it possibly be? Are they hungry for any type of sexual contact? Do they really mean all the hugs that they give? Lots of the hugs I saw were not so sincere and lacking human emotion. So, if you are not fully commited... why do it? Some seemed desperate for attention. Hey, you could see it in their faces.

This generation astounds me. By watching them for hours and hours, all I could see were depressed faces with moments of glee, mainly when they saw their favorite "characters" alive by cosplay. Yes, they sometimes dance and laugh, but for the most part they are just... they seem... lost. I sometimes think that things like the internet and tv have made them lose contact with the real world, with real humans. They are so consumed by comic books, videogames, chat rooms, text messages... I can bet that if I ask one of them the last time they went out and enjoyed the sun they won't be able to answer me.

Is sad the new black? Is lost the new trend? And the most important question is... can we as fathers and mothers give them the idea that at the end, it's all going to be ok?