Love Online

This was a very interesting article. With many stories like this, it usually ends in one person being revealed as someone other than whom they claimed to be. I’m surprised that Henry’s father approved of this relationship, but not too shocked that Sarah’s father was hesitant. It examines the power that new communication technologies have on all aspects of our lives, including romantic relationships. With the ability to communicate with people across the world, it is much easier to build like-minded connections compared to stumbling upon those people in person. Although their relationship was fundamentally electronic, they still valued the tangible aspects and were able to exchange gifts and letters through the physical mail. This underlines the power that these new forms of communication have, but also show the irreplaceable nature of tangibility and physically being with someone.

It Takes a Village to Find a Phone

This reading outlines the power that social media and technology have in the modern world. Although this is a little dated, the same principles still apply. It is heartwarming to see a community come together to retrieve someone’s phone, but it is also disheartening that someone would take the phone and make threats, instead of returning it to the rightful owner. Without social media, it would’ve been very difficult to track down Ivanna’s phone, but with the improvements in new communication technologies over the past few years, it is a lot easier to track down a lost phone now.