I thoroughly agree with Morgan and Zoe’s comments, on both the structure of the short stories as well as the length of the short stories. I think being able to tell a story or your story in the most concise possible way is extremely valuable? Can you pack more into the words you are writing / telling? Can you convey the same exact meaningful, thoughtful message with less words? Can your sentence structure carry more weight and less quantity. I believe, if anything, social media has taught its users this particular crafting skill. For example, the 140-character tweet, or an individual contemplating how existential / thought-provoking / funny can one’s Instagram caption can be… I am not sure how useful the skill is in regards to social media and portrayal of an individual, but this skill does translate to different fields of professional work. In an email to a colleague, how concise, clear, and to-the-point can you be without typing a daunting paragraph the colleague would not want to read? The ability to be clear, concise, and to-the-point is highly valuable in the business world, and I am sure it has its fit elsewhere.
As for the drones, I have mixed feelings. On one hand, I am supremely happy with the idea of saving American lives. I have close friends in the military, and I would rather rest my head on the pillow at night, being able to sleep at night knowing they are not in foreign territory. On the contradictory hand, I cannot help but empathize with innocent civilians who are murdered due to technologic errors, human logistical errors, or other problematic errors causing innocent deaths. I can empathize with having my mother or brother being killed by a man-made robot, and how badly that would hurt my heart.
Despite all, I think it is important to note another important detail in regards to drones and technology. The article was written in February of 2013, and we all know how far technology has come and can grow in four long years. Drones may be more accurate due to increases in technologic advances, however, I do not know this by any means. I just think it is important to note out. I suppose the technology and accuracy of drones could be worse or the same, but this seems improbable to me.
American Fiction in the Social Media Age 