Dear Holden... Something You Would Hate

Dear Holden,
Since the 1940s, a key period in your life, advances in technology have really transformed the world. In 2010, we take things for granted such as the internet, laptops, digital cameras, portable music players, color flat screen TVs, as well as revolutionary technology based advances in all areas of our lives. The list of modern technological inventions available to us is growing exponentially. The most common and accessible piece of technology, however, is a cell phone. Cell phones are small, portable telephones which people carry around with them, originally designed in order to make and receive calls on the go. Now, cell phones can have additional features, including Internet access, a camera, and email, that make the phones more like miniature computers. Some claim that these devices are essential, and allow people to be more accessible and connected. Other people dislike this accessibility, and argue that cell phones only serve to distract their users.
I sit here writing you this letter, with my cell phone within an arm’s reach. Without it, I do not feel as connected to the world, and in some situations, I feel unsafe without it. Not only am I able to connect with my personal network virtually instantaneously, I can record information or events or be the recipient of information or events almost immediately after they occur, and lastly, I can call others regardless of where I am. Even though I am happily dependent on such a device, cell phones are something you would absolutely hate about the world I live in.
As made clear in your autobiography, Catcher in the Rye, you detest any artifice in others. Because of this, you would have trouble having a conversation with a good deal of people in 2010, as many people living in today’s modern world hide behind the cell phone technology in their hands, and use it to manipulate the world around them. For example, people feel empowered to text something on their cell phone that they would not be comfortable saying face to face, or even on a call. Why? Because texting is not influenced by tone of voice, facial expression, or the intimidation of being face to face, people are more willing to ‘say’ things that are much more brazen and possibly untrue without fear. While I might use texting to find out where I am supposed to meet my friends, or what the homework assignment is, articles in the newspaper describe situations where texting was used as a form of bullying, or misrepresenting the facts or intentions.
Not only this, but a lot of people devote more time to their cell phones than they do to the people around them. In particular, certain business people never stop working even after they've left the office because of their ability to make calls, check their email, and follow their job or business all on their cell phone. These "workaholics" have trouble having an undistracted conversation, eating an uninterrupted meal, or devoting unlimited time to their families and loved ones. Similar habits have also spread to younger people, many of which are on their cell phones nonstop. You would find it sickening to see that friends who are hanging out do not even pay full attention to each other, as they are preoccupied with a game, other conversations, or incoming news on their cell phones. Because there has been an increased rate of virtual interaction, people are becoming numb to true pain and emotion, which, in turn, decreases empathy, potentially increasing more shameless, and possibly evil, behavior.
Lastly, there are an increasing number of incidences where the camera and/or video feature on cell phones is being misused. People are able to misrepresent the facts, manipulate a situation, and even embarrass or blackmail others. Covertly taking pictures or videos, unknown to the subject, and then posting them publicly, people are able to take a situation out of context. Cell phone users are even able to secretly record a conversation for later playback. All of these factors create multiple opportunities for people to lie and deceive, usually for their own personal gain.
It’s impossible to forget your intense loathing of liars, cheaters, manipulators, and phonies. You would read the media today and be disgusted. After reading about Tiger Woods texting his many mistresses, people selling cell phone videos of Michael Jackson’s last moments, and Phoebe Prince being bullied to death between the nasty texts, calls, and postings of those around her, you would have probably lost hope in the human population. Imagine if the “Maurices” of the world would no longer need to rely on their fists to instill fear, and instead use technology. You would be the first one to see how these types of people could embody evil by torturing their victims with, in my opinion, the simplest thing- cell phones.

Write me back soon!
Your friend,
Kira