Guys, I have a confession to make.

I don’t hate eavesdropping —

but I don’t encourage it either.

Let’s just say, sometimes life throws a juicy dialogue your way and you’re just… there.

Minding your own business (mostly).

A couple of weeks ago, I took my son — my 28-month-old whirlwind — to see the fountain in our society.

(He calls it the “water pool”, with that twinkle in his eye that says he’s very seriously considering jumping straight into it.)

There I was, being a responsible adult, keeping an eye on my little daredevil, making sure he didn’t turn into a fish…

when I overheard something.

Two school-going girls were chatting nearby, and one of them said,

“Arre, now Siddharth is here and you’re not talking to him. But when he’s not around, you keep crying for him!”

I caught the quick exchange of glances when they realized I’d heard them.

I pretended to look extra concerned about my son — because, frankly, I was concerned.

He was inching way too close to the water with the energy of a caffeinated squirrel.

A few moments later, the same girl turned to “Siddharth” and said,

“Arre no, he’s just a friend. Don’t think anything else.”

And that’s when it hit me.

Nothing has changed.

Not even a little bit.

Friendzoning — that old, stubborn, inevitable rite of passage — still lives on.

Even after all these years, after all the exposure, smartphones, reels, podcasts, dating apps, AI, ChatGPT (hi),

young people are still getting tangled in the same old ‘just friends’ mess.

Just like we did.

As I scooped up my son before he could stage-dive into the fountain, I couldn’t help but smile.

The players have changed.

The slang has evolved.

The memes have gotten way cooler.

But the game?

The game remains exactly the same.

At that moment, it hit me harder:

Social media may have accelerated a lot of things (especially how quickly teenagers get into relationships — and out of them)

but it hasn’t managed to fix the basic formula:

People still don’t know what they want, but they desperately want it anyway.

And somewhere between stopping my kid from auditioning for Finding Nemo and overhearing the next line of drama, another realization dawned:

Wait… am I seriously standing here thinking about teenagers getting more action than adults?

Am I…

turning into an uncle?

Maybe I am.

Maybe growing older is just realizing that every generation thinks they’re inventing life for the first time —

while the older ones are standing on the sidelines, quietly chuckling,

“Beta, we invented that confusion long before Instagram made it glamorous.”

And you know what?

I don’t mind it.

Because someday, my own little “water pool diver” will grow up.

He’ll probably friendzone someone or get friendzoned himself.

He’ll think it’s the end of the world.

And I’ll just smile, hand him a cold drink, and tell him —

“Bhai, it’s a phase. Stay dry — literally and emotionally.”

Until then, I’ll be here.

Guarding the fountains, observing the dramas, and slowly — but surely — graduating into Uncle Mode.

Life’s weird like that.

But it’s also kind of beautiful.L

Later.