An open letter to technology

​Cursive. I miss the art of penmanship. I miss the old days of handwriting letters and folding them into crudely interpreted origami shapes to pass along in class because we didn’t have cell phones yet. It was a simpler time. I have a love hate relationship with you more often than not. It might seem perfectly normal or possibly a little ironic that I’m writing this… using a computer… however I ask all reading this letter to bear with me. I could’ve captured a few thousand carrier pigeons and attached my beloved hand written letters or mastered the ancient art of smoke signals but I feel like everyone will get over it once we stumble upon the next viral phenomenon that will undoubtedly consume the majority of what the masses deem worthy of our attention. With that said, I’ll continue.

Personally technology, you are a tricky sum-bitch when it comes to accepting you. I am absolutely not saying that I am above you, that I don’t need you, that I’m not obsessed with you, or that I can’t wait until we can party and get smashed on the moon because of you… but sometimes I do feel like you get out of hand. We have contraptions that allow the lonely and most questionable of humans to have virtual reality sex. On the other hand we have 3D printing of organs and materials that can save lives and our environment but then we’re set back again by the whole nuclear weapons thing. I could go back and forth on the millions of good and bad technological advancements and developments that were reached for the purpose of ‘protection’, pleasure, or simply to make our lives a little bit easier, but I choose to highlight the good and focus on the one that kind of embodies them all… the wonder that is social media. Shout out to you Internet.

With the assistance of YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, SnapChat and a number of others we have evolved into a community that’s seemingly endless. How we as a species organically come together to support, educate, and even live vicariously through each other is a mind blowing concept in itself for the simple fact that there is so much negativity in the world and it’s dangerously easy for us to begin to lose faith in humanity all together. That one’s for Trump. My letter, my opinion.
We have almost ever-expanding platforms that make it remarkably easy to reach the masses to incite action and encourage change… a reach that extends beyond the confines of any city, state, country, political borders and even religious boundaries.

You’ve given us a new responsibility and for that I thank you. Being successful, or rather ‘notable’ on social media is almost like having a super power… a super power in which one can wield for good or for evil. We become Superman with no kryptonite. How, one might ask?... because our communities chose to follow us. They identify, to some degree, with us and our ideals. We impart into their lives in one-way or another and that’s huge. The late Uncle Ben could not have spoken truer words “With great power comes great responsibility.” For those of you that didn’t catch that… yes that was a Spiderman reference. I’m a closet nerd. Deal with it.
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ANYWAY… because of you, technology, we are provided the opportunity to be informed and entrusted with the opportunity to inform. You’ve become the crown jewel of mankind, the ultimate creation. Good for you. Just don’t forget where you came from… the minds of man. We are powerful beings and guess where all that you know to be reality came from? I’m calling you out because the leaders and influencers of our online communities have to realize that we are contributing to the most POWERFUL thing in existence. I’m hoping that with this letter they understand that their voices aren’t going unheard. Whether their communities are large or small, we are all intertwined through sharing, liking, or good old-fashioned screenshot and text. If they’re going to be connected to you anyway I want them to share their travels. I want them to show the world there is still good out there. I want them to urge their communities to speak up on social topics. I want them to embrace change and social advancements. I want them to LOVE ONE ANOTHER. I want them to get people out there to LIVE their lives using you as a vessel. Oh and as if you didn’t already know, everybody has a cell phone or a tablet so you don’t ever have to worry about you and the ones that have grown to love you… well… growing apart.

You’re pretty awesome and I know it’s not your fault if people use you in ways that don’t exactly advance us as a whole. I guess it’s just easier for me to say I hate a bunch of 1’s and 0’s as opposed to saying I hate someone who is interacting with society as a result of what they’ve been exposed to. You –are- always there for me with or without wifi, which is a lot more than I can say about a lot of people so until you really fuck me over… like leak my nudes, we can still be homies.

SomeDailyJoe