The Advancements of Technology

In the episode of "Black Mirror", the technology was obviously more advanced that what we have today. For the most part the technology was good for the people. However, the use of technology that Martha used to talk to Ash was not good for her socially or emotionally. The ability to email him after his death could have been a useful way to say her final goodbyes because she was not able to before he passed. But, she went far beyond the basic goodbye and began to have full conversations with him. These conversations led to her not being able to let go of him and she began to crave his presence more and more. I do not think this is her fault because she told her friend that she did not want the program to be emailed to her. Martha just became hooked after she started using it. The emails soon turned to phone calls as she sent more information in to the company about him. Martha's craving could not be fulfilled. The company that created these programs knows that people who have lost loved ones will go to great measures to feel their presence again. The company was testing out a new android that will become extremely close to the original person. Martha, seeking Ash's presence, ordered one. This decision was very bad for her. Once she received the android she was kind of freaked out but soon realized that he was similar but not exactly like Ash. Martha quickly saw the differences between real Ash and the android and this caused almost a sort of resentment towards the robot. I think the robot was extremely unhealthy for Martha because she was trying to hide him. As a result, she began not to socialize with other people. This was bad for her because she really needed people in her life during her grieving process but she was shutting them out of her life. Also, she knew what she was doing was wrong so it seemed as though she began to become disappointed in herself. She new Ash was not really there but she did not want to believe that he was really gone. I do not blame Martha for getting herself into this situation because I know she was going through a very difficult time and just made decisions based on her emotions. Eventually Martha came to her senses and decided to put Ash 2 in the attic. This was healthy for both her and her child. I hope she did not tell her child that Ash 2 was her dad because that would not be a healthy relationship for a child. It would have been good to treat it as a toy. Altogether, this episode shows that technology can have both a positive and negative impact on society.