The Machine is Your Friend

You think that machine is your friend, but it’s not.

You think it brings you pleasure and purpose — connects you, nourishes you — giving you exactly what you need when you need it. You think it’s your gateway to the world — to community and acceptance, to creativity and ideas, to the buzz of now. You think it offers more than what this moment can give you, more than what’s in front of you, more than the thoughts that compose you. You think that the stream will satisfy you, that the browser will enlighten you, that this app will complete you, that those likes will fill you.

Published by Cheri Lucas Rowlands

Senior editor at Longreads / Automattic

19 thoughts on “The Machine is Your Friend

  1. Don’t we all go through these thoughts? The machine is not human and won’t ever replace people. But the machine is also the new bridge between people, anywhere, at any time, and as long as we don’t forget that the machine is a tool, I think we are fine.

  2. Surely I’m not the only one who sees the irony in this post. It’s reminiscent of something I would expect to find on Livejournal circa 2001. Not to be mistaken though, I think you’ve touched on an interesting topic. One that deserves statistical analysis through a sociological, psychological or sociopolitical lens. I think you’re up to the task. Why not set your mind to it? Or is the post’s shortness simply illustrative of the author’s disillusionment?

  3. Love it.

    It’s hard to embrace the possibilities hinted at from this interconnectedness, without getting sucked into thinking that the medium is an end in itself.

    (been reading and loving your writing for a little while now)

  4. I did it. I’ve decided to take some time away from the machine. I deleted my Facebook and Twitter accounts, set my blog to private, and changed my email, and I’m just going to remember what it means to live in the moment for awhile. Didn’t completely delete the blog though, incase I can’t stand the real world for more than a couple days. I just wanted to write it down somewhere, rather than just completely disappearing, so I thought since this post was the last bit of inspiration that I needed to take a break for a bit that I would just write it here. See you in a while
    Sreejit

  5. I don’t and can’t drive my vintage vehicle down wide smooth highways anymore– but! The machine take me there, all the old familiar places on command. Hours and hours. What would I do without this machine? Dream, and take earned nap.

  6. Forever we’re running after completion when truly everything already exists within us. Finding contentment in a wandering mind is next to impossible. Still, I think we like the pain. Or at least we are so attached to the pain of going after some idea of success, or fulfillment, that it is so difficult for us to sit back and realize that we are already there. One moment being lost after another. Nice post. Now let me get back to Twitter stalking, trying to find some famous person to put me over the top.

    1. Funny how I first read this post from totally my own perspective on how I use the computer but going back and rereading, you had a much more sincere use that was still probably never going to be fulfilled. At anyrate. You’re right, the machine is not your friend! Let me go find some shoulder to cry on now…

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