I'm afraid your experience is not universal. There are plenty of people I care very deeply about, yet Facebook reminding me of their birthdays is a godsend. Children I do somewhat better with, but names are always a struggle for me. A friend had triplets a couple months into the pandemic, and I'm still struggling there. Meanwhile a the drop of a hat I can bring to mind some technical detail that I heard once a decade ago and never used.

People's minds work differently, just because something comes easily to you does not mean it does to everyone else.

You won't forget directions when it matters.

If you can't remember how to get to a certain place without a navigation app, it's a sign that that place is not close enough to you for it to actaully matter.

I really do not understand people who cannot do without navigation to get home when they visited a friend for the first time.

If you can't see someone, you obviously don't care about them. (Glasses are a conspiracy?) And if you can't hear your friends, you must hate them.

I can never remember my age, and have missed my birthday on occasion. When under pressure, I forget which of my children is the older, and confuse their names.

In other news, I speak with a heavy accent, and am embarrassed by it all the time. I have tried learning to speak natively, without luck.

This, despite my having an above average IQ.

Everyone is somewhere on the bell curve in all of our capabilities. Cut some slack for others where they lack, and appreciate the talents you have.

I can still remember the name of the woman in the porn mag I found from my dads cupboard 30 years ago. Haven't seen that magazine in 29 years.

I keep forgetting the names of my friends wives and children. I talk to them weekly.

The only birthdays I remember are mine, my wife's and my kids. I kinda remember the season my other family members birthdays, maybe the month if I really strain. Couldn't tell the actual date even if you waterboarded me.

Not everyone has a good memory, even if they care a lot about people.

I once had a girlfriend I cared about tremendously. She was, and is, amazing. Her birthday, she told me, was the 7th of December. I didn't save it, because how could I forget? It's a day that will live in infamy! It's also don Vito Corleone's birthday!

It's proper infamous now: my forgetting it in no small part contributed to our breakup.

Some people just have bad memories.

I have a brain injury. I can’t remember my parent’s birthdays. I recently couldn’t recall my wife’s middle name. I love all those people and live with one of them. Needing or wanting a technology assist doesn’t map to one’s level of commitment to a relationship in my opinion.

No some people have disabilities and stuff. People with Alzheimer's aren't simply suffering from not being close enough with their friends and family.