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Micaela Martinez
Ashley Humphries
ENC 1101
4 Feb 2015
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 irritable
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, not only in the
same city, state, or country, but from all around the world. Many argue 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

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interaction between people though it might not be face to face. 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 didnt 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 aos. (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
every once in a while too. With that being said, the internet brought us closer, rather than apart.
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

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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.
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 is currently stationed in Syria so he isnt able to text but he
does have the beautiful 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.
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

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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, thats how much this technology has
influenced and shaped us into the people we are today.
Backtracking to pictures and videos, smartphones have made it super easy to record
special events in a persons 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 ones 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 doesnt 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 thats 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 in 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.