Tiongson 1

Jeremy Tiongson
Professor Collins
English 115
1 November 2015
English 115 Multimodal Essay
Human involvement in technology has long been a part of our history when dealing with
discovery. However, we fail to realize that our gadgets help us create another living being
aside from who we are in reality. As we use modern smartphones and computers to connect
through social media, we also create a web-based profile, making us an extension of our virtual
selves. We, as a technologically-advanced civilization,
have ignored the question as to why todays technological advances play such
a big role in daily endeavors and routines. In Black Mirrors Be Right Back, this very issue is
addressed and brought to the attention of the viewers. Upon realizing the difference between
memory and history, the audience can now understand the distinction between our virtual
and real selves in terms of our own past experiences.
I was once debating with my high school English teacher about blogs, and how or why
they are widely used amongst teenagers. My argument
originated from a personal experience with a blog in
which I tried to make as much like my physical self as
possible. I tried forming this blog objectively that when other schoolmates found it, it would give
the image like I would in real life. However, he argued that these blogs would be a self-projected
image of how another student my age would like others to see him. After further contemplating
the truth, I came to the conclusion that the latter argument proved to be true. My friends, whom I

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personally know and interact with, are more lively, outgoing, and comedic within their virtual
counterparts. I also realized that though I was trying to mold this blog to be as much like myself
as possible, there was still some sort of bias on how I would have liked others to view my
personality. In the end, we are not always depicted accurately as our profiles suggest.
Today, the use of technology has recently become a social norm, as suggested by Be
Right Back. Adults and young adults of Generation Y (born between 1980 to 2000) are the most
impacted by this social change. Within a span of 20
years, members of Generation Y experienced rapid
technological advancements during their adolescent
period. This generation grew from playing outside to
being on the computer as a normal means of
interaction. Therefore, adults born in and beyond 1980
and who have grown up with the computer, are more likely to have used a website to create a
profile and connect with friends using social media. With this information, it is also easy to state
that members of Generation Y are more dependent on these virtual selves to create a separate
online image, which like my blog, is subject to bias based on how an individual would like
themselves to be viewed.
In Black Mirrors Be Right Back, Martha is heavily dependent on technology to help
fill the void her deceased husband left. In our society, it is normal for one to react similarly to
Martha, using the mediums we now possess. For example, our blogs may be used as an outlet of
thoughts to help ease the feeling of grief after a loss of a loved one, and it may also be used as a
memory base to look back upon. But, these memories are not history, as exemplified by Marthas

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frustration with the Ash android. History can be described as an experience that is personally felt,
as

opposed to memory, which can be described as simply remembering

information.
By definition, a cyborg is an individual whose physical abilities are
enhanced by mechanical elements. Moreover, an individual who was wounded

in the theater of war, and given prosthetic extremities could be considered a cyborg. Cyborgs
then cannot replace humans because there will always be more of a biologically human element
than mechanical. Despite this truth, the human intuition will be more reliant depending on the
enhanced subject. In Black Mirrors The Entire History of You, the Grain was used to enhance
memory using a record-and-playback system. The characters showed symptoms of dependence
on this piece of technology, which then proved to be the hindrance of the main character. Though
cybernetic organisms cannot fully replace a human being, the dependency of the individual
would affect his intuition.
Along with the existence of a cybernetic organisms, the question comes to mind: could
these half mechanical/human beings have the same rights as a fully biological
human? I believe that in the case of a disabled war veteran, whose
extremities may have been replaced by a mechanical element, there
should be added rights to ease that individuals struggle. Websites, such
as http://www.woundedwarriorproject.org, have been established to fight for
these veterans to have such rights. Also, because someone needs or has a
piece of technology attached to their body, it does not make that person less human. I believe that
every being has basic rights or moral rules to follow to make their lives and those of other more
bearable.

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As exemplified by the Black Mirror episodes, technology has become part of modern
society. It is the use of these advances that make it difficult to distinguish between memory and
history, but the use of both does not deteriorate the human nostalgic intuition. We are an
extension of our virtual selves because of this nostalgia because both memory, which is stored
within our social media, and history, which is personally experienced, are part of being a human
being. Moreover, cybernetic organisms (part human, part machine) are not less than a human,
and therefore, must not be deprived of any human rights.

Works Cited
Black Mirror. Netflix, n.d. Web. 20 Nov. 2015.

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Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com, n.d. Web. 20 Nov. 2015.
Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com, n.d. Web. 20 Nov. 2015.
Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 20 Nov. 2015.
Rate My Professor. Http://www.ratemyteachers.com/chris-may/1638944-t, n.d. Web. 20 Nov.
2015.
Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 20 Nov. 2015.
Netflix. Http://www.netflix.com/watch/70264856?
trackId=13752289&tctx=0%2C2%2Ce1dad549-10bd-404a-b164-79807e98ee2d-36237483, n.d.
Web. 20 Nov. 2015.
"The Entire History Of You" Black Mirror TV Review Black Mirror: "The Entire History Of
You" TV Club The A.V. Club. A.V. Club, 26 Nov. 2013. Web. 20 Nov. 2015.
Veterans Charity Service Organization. Wounded Warrior Project, n.d. Web. 20 Nov. 2015.