Listen to Kristen Bell’s Christmas Song for the Selfie Generation

This holiday season, let your loved ones know you care by going through the tremendous effort of selecting the right emoji for a text message. So says Kristen Bell in a newly released holiday song, “Text Me Merry Christmas,” recorded with a capella group Straight No Chaser. The song pokes fun — very lightly, perhaps too lightly — at the increasing informality of communication, where a text message today provides a measly substitute for the in-person visits of yore.

The lyrics (“I’ll go ‘neath the mistletoe and pretend my screen is you”) are a very intentional far cry from romantic songs of Christmases past, in which lovers kissed using the old-fashioned technology of lips and facial muscles. Bell has proven her musical talents before, in projects like Frozen and a Funny or Die parody video in which she played the part of Mary Poppins. And Straight No Chaser launched its career in the late ‘90s with a performance of “12 Days of Christmas,” which led to a five-album record deal.

It may be out of fashion to lament the adverse effects of technology. But it’s not hard to imagine that a day will come when we yearn for the close and personal touch of a winking emoji.