Wellness

Many aspects of Jack and Elizabeth’s lives are shaped by technological advancement. They come of age in the pre-internet era, during a time when each of them feels isolated and without meaningful friendships. Without social media, they must physically leave their surroundings to find a community of like-minded individuals. Later, however, social media that claims its purpose is to bring people together in a virtual community becomes a dividing force between Jack and his father. The novel ironizes the fact that Facebook drives Jack and Lawrence further apart. Lawrence frequently attempts to connect with Jack, but Jack consciously resists, keeping his personal life inaccessible from his father by not allowing him access to his private online content. Lawrence, ignorant of how algorithms work, instead falls victim to the pull of Facebook’s outrage machine. As he becomes convinced that harmful conspiracy theories are true, the technology acts to reinforce these beliefs rather than countering them. Quickly, Lawrence adopts the ideology his social media bubble keeps him inside of. The novel depicts how difficult it is for humans to operate independently of the machinations of the internet: Most depressingly, when Lawrence attempts to double-check the false information he gleans on Facebook, his Google searches only reinforce the same ideas.