Rise of the Machines

The Brutal Irony of Social Media

My dad worked in the computer industry when they were so large they could take up rooms. I’d go to work with him as a little kid, and we’d play Lunar Lander. He’d tell me about getting actual mail on the computer instead of your mailbox, and my younger brain could barely grasp the concept. Years later, I got some books on basic programming and tried to build a text game (“If A$=B$ then…” for you computer nerds) but quickly gave up. I was fascinated to see the evolution from the Radio Shack TRS (“Trash”)-80 to the Apple 2E. Microsoft came along, and boom, we’ve got what we have now—computers on our watches and a mobile device that enslaves everyone who possesses one. I say this without a hint of judgment, as I am one of you.

Don’t get me wrong: the convenience of instant information at our fingertips is huge. What used to require a trip to the library to look at an encyclopedia (and who wants to do that) can now be accomplished in seconds.