As technology advances in our increasingly fast-paced world, I fear for future generations. Can children really learn and experience via the screens that overwhelm our society? Although I type this on a laptop, simultaneously checking my email on my smart phone, technology makes me uncomfortable. Today, children balk at suggestions to play outside or leave their tablets behind. Shteyngart helps me realize my fear of an even more technological society. I fondly remember my childhood, spent outdoors with no screens allowed. The thought that I may become even more dependent on electronics and pending technology is vaguely nauseating. Although Shteyngart intends this novel as a crazy stretch of the imagination, I do not see it being very far off from reality. Screens are a necessity in order to participate in most school and work activities, and more and more they seek to replace real life experiences. Using "apps," video chats, and social networking, the iphone is slowly but surely becoming our aparats of 2013. Reading Super Sad True Love Story opened my eyes to the reality that modern America is rapidly converging with what Shteyngart thought a ludicrous explosion of technology. 

In the text, Shteyngart portrays a world of inescapable technology. This is exemplified in the case of the Fat Man. Without his apparat, he is punished. He seems to have no choice but to bend to the technological movement. This may not be as far off from current society as I first believed. When I stop to consider how entwined technology is in my life, I don't think I would have any more power than the Fat Man. In order to participate in college and work, technology is often required. An increasing amount of e-texts and online assignments for school leave me powerless to expel technology from my life. As the Fat Man did, I could veto technology, but not without severe ramifications. I doubt that any soldiers will come and cart me off if I leave home without my smartphone, but if I get rid of my internet I will receive significantly lower grades in classes. In this world, as in the world in Super Sad True Love Story, technology is becoming ever more present in our lives. While our future may not look exactly like Shteyngart's nightmares, I do believe that the similarities between this novel and our reality are far greater than we may think.