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Micaela Martinez

Ashley Humphries

ENC 1101

4 Feb 2015

Using Technology to Bring People Closer

Ring!! Ring!!

It was a cool, calm autumn afternoon. I was around ten years old at the time and was

playing one of my favorite games on Disney.com when suddenly the game stops responding as

the house phone begins to ring. This was the struggle of the times of dial-up internet. Dial-up

internet was definitely one of the most frustrating experiences of my childhood. I would always

lose the progress on whatever it was I was doing right before that unwanted house call came

through, cutting the already limited internet connection. The worst was when my grandmother

would call from Argentina, keeping my mom on the phone for over an hour. Thinking about it

now, it might have been a good thing, getting me off of the computer for some time. However,

when I knew that the call would be short I would start playing the 3D Space Cadet Pinball game

that almost all computers had back then. Most people probably remember the hassle of having

dial-up internet when they were younger and the annoyance of it all. Though it was irritating

most of the time, having internet was one of the greatest technological inventions, and not even

to mention the immense role that computers had in all of this.

Computers have facilitated and improved communication between people, including

myself, not only in the same city, state, or country, but from all around the world. Many argue

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that these technological advances have affected communication with people for the worst.

However, all these advances have actually gotten people to communicate more, now facilitating

and promoting more interaction between people though it might not be face to face. There are

even ways to still talk face to face, though it be through the internet. Every once in a while, I talk

to my best friend through Skype, where I get to see her beautiful face and hear her angelic voice.

Furthermore, having so many ways to get in contact with others, being through chat rooms,

social media, email, and so on and so forth, increased communication all together. For example, I

left Argentina very young, at the age of four. I had this one best friend that I didn’t quite

remember as I grew up in the United States but I had countless pictures with him. My mom

would always tell me stories about us and how we would always be together. After several years

of not talking to my friend, Emiliano, I finally got in contact with him through Facebook.

“Hola! Te acordas de mi? Eramos amigos antes de venirme a vivir a los Estados Unidos a

los cuatro años.” (Hey! Do you remember me? We were friends before I came to live in the

United States when I was four years old.) I said, initiating the conversation.

“Si, obvio que me acuerdo. Mi mama siempre me muestra fotos de cuando eramos

chiquitos y ibamos al Gutemberg.” (Yes, of course I remember you. My mom always shows me

pictures of when we were younger and went to Gutemberg (our elementary school).) Emiliano

replied.

Our conversation went on for about two hours before I had to go, but those two hours

were spent catching up the ten or so years we were apart since I had left Argentina. We talked for

a few more days after that and now we talk every few weeks and catch up. When I first went

back to Argentina, I even met up with him and had a great time catching up in person as well.

Apart from Emiliano, I also got in contact with about five other childhood friends and we talk

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every once in a while too. With that being said, the internet brought us closer, rather than apart.

Without this technology, I may have never talked to these childhood friends again. It meant a lot

to me that I was able to keep in contact with them. If I had never been able to contact my friends,

I would have lost a great bunch of people from my life. Though I was not able to keep in

physical contact with them, I’m glad I was able to reach out to them when I did rather than

never.

Apart from the normal computer, the development of laptops and smartphones has also

influenced communication in the positive. Not only can we find a whole bunch of information

online, but can now do it on the go. I know for a fact that having a laptop and cellphone with

internet access has made it one hundred times easier to communicate with others, and learn

quicker and more efficiently. The invention of the smartphone has made communication more

effortless and accessible, being able to text, call, email, tweet, Facebook, etc., all on the go.

My phone, for example, has helped me keep in contact with my best friend Noam. Noam

and I met by the end of 9th grade in high school and we have been best friends ever since.

However, she moved to Ohio right after the summer after 9th grade, then moving back to Israel

two years after that, where she is now in the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). Imagine how hard it

would be to keep in contact with her without a computer or phone. With my phone, and using the

Whatsapp application, I am able to talk to my best friend any time I want, or need her, or miss

her, even with the six, sometimes seven, hour time difference. I don’t know what I would do

without this application; I would be losing contact with one of the best things that has ever

happened to me. My best friend is my life, if I wasn’t able to talk to her whenever I wanted, I

would be losing my better half.

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Moreover, my phone has also help me keep in contact with one of my most cherished

friends, and ex-boyfriend, David. Two years ago David became a United States Marine. We had

to write some sappy letters back and forth to be able to talk while he was in boot camp, but now I

talk to him mostly through Snapchat. He was stationed in Syria until about a week ago, so he

wasn’t able to text but he did have the awesome invention of internet connection. Always

looking as handsome as ever in his uniform, he snaps pictures whenever he has free time and we

talk that way. Now that he is back on base in Arizona I finally get to text him or talk to him over

the phone. Being able to hear his voice makes me extremely happy. While I was talking to him

the other day he told me he’s been given orders to come back to the Pensacola base. You can’t

even imagine how happy I got when I realized that he’ll only be three hours away from me. I’ll

finally be able to see him after not seeing him in person for about a year and a half. If it weren’t

for technology, I would have never been able to get in contact with him and my relationship with

him would have dissipated. I thank technology for keeping me close to my loved ones.

Other than using this technology to communicate with others, we can use it for other

tasks. For example, we can record our day to day lives, whether it be making voice memos,

taking videos or pictures, or even just setting up a schedule on your phone. My mom is always

making voice memos to remind her of things she has to do rather than writing it all down. I for

one, am always making notes on my phone regarding daily to do lists. This helps me keep track

of events, errands, and/or assignments I have to do on a day to day basis. For me it is extremely

useful being that I always have my phone on me, as do many people nowadays. Some may even

argue that phones are an extension of their own arms, that’s how much this technology has

influenced and shaped us into the people we are today.

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Backtracking to pictures and videos, smartphones have made it super easy to record

special events in a person’s life. Being able to snap a picture and have it instantaneously rather

than having to wait and develop it has created a huge culture of sharing one’s life with their

friends and family all in the click of a button. This development has helped unite people no

matter where they are in the world. With my dad living back home in Argentina, he is always

asking me to send pictures of my mom, sister, and I since he doesn’t have the chance to be with

us personally. I remember how excited my dad got when I told him that he could watch my high

school graduation live online. He was in Spain at the moment so while I was graduating at five in

the afternoon, he was watching it at eleven at night in Spain. However, no time difference would

make him miss my graduation, especially when all he wants it to be back with my sister and I,

though that’s a whole other story.

The invention of the computer, internet, and smartphone has created a sense of unity in

most of the world. It has greatly affected me and, I am sure, everyone else with access to this

technology, in my opinion, for the better. Yes, we have lost some face-to-face communication

and long, handwritten, sappy letters, but we have also gained much more. Now we can

communicate with people across the world with just a click of a button! Overall I believe that

this technology will only get better as time goes by, simplifying and facilitating tasks that we

might deal with on a day-to-day basis. Without all of this technology, I would not be able to keep

in contact with my closest friends and family, including my best friend and my dad. If I hadn’t

had all of this access to communication, I probably wouldn’t have the strong connections that I

have with my most cherished loved ones.