The Machine

Before e-mail, there was the pony express.

Before print, there was ink.

But to those who saw letters on paper, written with bottled ink and a feathered quill, as a new means of communication, it was a new form of technology. Technology, although great, is feared. This fear can be show in movies like The Matrix, in which society is taken over by artificial intelligence. But why be afraid? Because technology is powerful, that's why.

Google, Facebook, Youtube. The world wide web and the use of computers have changed society exponentially. Instead of communicating face-to-face, we talk to each other via a bright screen and buzzing hardware. This has caused older forms of communication, such as handwritten letters, to become obsolete. In an ever-upgrading world, where technologies are becoming more advanced by the day and the power to delete millions of terabytes of information lies in the push of a single key, who wouldn't be afraid?

But just as the machine uses us, we also use the machine. Many think it's easier to speak their mind through computer text than through speech. This can be due to the fact that text is always the same. Since every letter will look the same in every word, it causes the writer to grow detached from their piece because they cannot put the same amount of their attitude and personality in text as they could through word of mouth or through developed handwriting. By distancing themselves from the person they are talking to, some may find that it is easier to speak unbiasedly and remain truthful, while not wearing their emotions on their sleeve. Thus, while the machine uses us, controls us, through its sheer precense and importance in today's society, we adapt to use the machine for our own good.