Let them be bored. They can be bored outside in the heat or they can be bored inside in the air conditioning but boundaries and guidelines will state that they cannot bother you. They also cannot consistently bother you, hoping you will find something for them to do. Explain that you have your own day to navigate, and that you are not their activities director.

And therein lies the quiet, pensive truth. That childhood ritual of marking your presence with a signature, while imperfect and sometimes rebellious, was a form of human connection. It was a tactile, shared experience—one that fostered a sense of belonging. You could see it, touch it, and know that it was real. When you wrote “Kristi was here” on a bathroom stall, you hoped someone might see it someday, smile, or even respond. When you carved your initials into a tree, it meant you had left a part of yourself behind, forever, in a place you loved.

Today’s digital signatures lack that physical intimacy. They are often disconnected from the tangible interactions that make us human. The post, comment, or emoji is quick, transient, and often stripped of the messy, beautiful imperfections of real life. It’s hard to feel the weight of a moment when your marker is a tap on a screen. The sense of permanence is blurred by the endless scroll, the temporary nature of a trending meme, or the viral wave of an impulsive comment.