Black Mirror: The Entire History of You is one episode of the British science-fiction series written by Jesse Armstrong and created by Charlie Booker. The Black Mirror episode had several unique and interesting perspectives on the future of mankind. The futuristic setting allows individuals to record and view their memories through a piece of technology called a “grain”. The grain works through a small implant placed behind their ear and a remote controller placed in their hand. The grain’s ability allows the main character, Liam, to critically analyze certain moments and events in his life. Throughout the episode Liam becomes suspicious and paranoid of his girlfriend (Ffion) and her ex-lover Jonas. Liam first observes Ffion’s tension as he arrived unexpectedly back home during a small house party. He also observed her facial and body expressions towards Jonas and himself. She seemed to find Jonas’s comments funny and charming while Liam’s comments were untimely and irrelevant. She showed displeasure towards her boyfriend and seemed to “light-up the room” whenever Jonas was in the center of attention. This began to weigh heavily on Liam pushing him to drink excessively and confront Ffion about her past with Jonas. She begins to crack overtime and she continues to feed Liam white lies about her past with Jonas. Liam eventually snaps one morning and finds himself stumbling into Jonas’s house aggressive and drunk looking for answers. The conversation escalated quickly between the two men and turns into a wrestling/bar fight! Liam eventually makes Jonas erase the “sex tapes” he had previously recorded with his grain technology. Towards the end of the episode Liam realizes that Ffion and Jonas had hooked up only 18 months prior to his last recording. This new found evidence floored Liam, making him spiral out of control. The final scene shows Liam reflecting on some of his romantic moments with Ffion. He lastly placed a razor behind his ear cutting and taring away at the grain. I believe the power of the grain became overwhelming to Liam and he finally realize the only thing he actually wanted to do was forget.

Google has had a lasting impact on our generation and how we interpret certain information. The University of Colombia stated “…the Internet is changing the way we remember information”. How much truth is there to this statement? What are the lasting effects of online information? In my opinion I do agree that Google and similar platforms are changing the way we translate information. Is this necessarily an issue? I do not believe so. The human population and technology are radically changing without warning. It is up to the human population to be careful with social media and interpret credible sources online. The ability and tools provided by the internet are incredible and astounding. To have limitless information right at our fingertips is something that was not plausible 20 or 30 years ago. As a generation we need to continue to adapt to our new technologies and take a deep breathe, this is only the beginning.

A Professor at MIT conducted an experiment on his Philosophy class after the majority of his class failed the midterm. His solution? “…offered them extra credit if they would give me their phones for nine days and write about living without them”(Technologyreview Paragraph 2). The students that accepted the extra credit were bewildered at first without their cell phones. The professor then stated “after just two weeks, the majority began to think that their cell phones were in fact limiting their relationships with other people, compromising their own lives, and somehow cutting them off from the “real” world”(Technologyreview Paragraph 4). I would have to agree with these student’s results. My cell phone plays a major role in my communication with professors, coaches, family and friends. However, the overall use and consumption of time spent on my cell phone in my opinion, is too much. I am averaging just over 5 hours a day on my iPhone. I think my screen time should be around 3-4 hours daily and be more proactive with my day. Not being glued to our phones has become a major issue across the globe. With better communication habits we can learn from our mistakes and create a stronger tomorrow.

Weekly News Article:

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nytimes.com/2020/02/06/learning/what-students-are-saying-about-how-much-they-use-their-phones-and-whether-we-should-be-worried.amp.html

Published By: Samuel Erickson