Author: Konstantina Kordoni

Student of Turkish & Modern Asian Studies, National University of Athens

If we could blame our modern society for one thing it would be for its pathogenicity and its deficiency from genuine and substantial feelings. At least, that’s what our parents and our schools taught us. They informed us about a world that doesn’t communicate on a deeper level, but hides behind an “electronic box”.

Nevertheless, because of the technological development, we see that online conversations and other kinds of interactions are on the rise. But what is most in doubt, is the quality of those interactions. In fact, it is considered incomprehensible for a truthful and sterling relationship to exist between two people, if a screen and keyboard is included. The new generations, though, except for their basic attraction to the Internet, they introduced the world a different way of interaction, which at the same time presents a kind of purity and authenticity. Basically, there is a redemption of the human feelings that a lot of people claimed that society had lost, through a modernised way.

So, are our feelings true? Are we the victims of a developed system that promotes superficial relationships or is this just a method of adjustment?

Before I reach my conclusion, I would like to briefly mention my opinion on the matter filtered through the movie named “Her” (2013), written and directed by Spike Jonze. The story unravels in a modern and futuristic side of Los Angeles, in which people have adopted new ways of organising their lives through different electronic and software programs. The landmark of the movie is the appearance of a new program, called OS (operating system), which supplies you with an earphone and a mini screen. The OS is programmed to have its own personality, by communicating through the time with its owner, and to improve itself. The protagonist, Theodore, of the story chooses a female voice for his own program, which is called Samantha, and unwillingly creates a special relationship with her. The point of this weird and extraordinary relationship is that one the one hand, Samantha, a simple voice with unbelievable sense of humour, intelligence and genuine love for the protagonist, manages to grow a special personality. On the other hand, Theodore manages to find true love in the most unexpected place.

If we wanted, we could doubt their whole relationship and the feelings that were developed between them, but it becomes clear that every particle of this relationship is something more than real. It’s embellished with all the characteristics, one by one, of falling in love, through the insecurities and the doubtfulness, the passion, the anxiety, the worry and on the other side, the traits of love through the feeling of wholeness, happiness, wellness and the sense of the other’s person existence without them on the room.

This romantic story didn’t make me realise the lack of depth in people’s modern  relationships, who in fact espouse technology for the most part, but to research all the ways that love can be expressed throughout time. It’s undeniable that the existence of love keeps us alive. We could say that it’s a need, a shout for survival. According to, the laws of Biology, the being that manages to survive is the one that has the ability to adjust better to its environment. So, maybe, the attraction and trust that people have shown in technology is an effort to survive in the modern era. And that doesn’t make their feelings any less valuable. Honestly, the person that denies their era most of the times ends up going insane.

In my opinion and also influenced by a literary masterpiece by Antonis Samarakis, “The Flaw”, the thing that saves a person in every circumstance from ‘’toxic’’ and ‘’poisonous’’ situations is their own humanity. Humanity is the one quality that can change the world and reevaluate the human relationships. Every bit of their entity, should be accepted, either it’s about sympathy and sensitivity or about logic and egoism. The erotic side of humans is the one that causes confusion. At some point in the movie, love is been described as a “socially acceptable insanity”, and that quote reveals the lack of boundaries that this feeling can “encounter”. But, at the same time, its ability to be sculpted in the right way, in order to become one with our nature and to stay pure, true, so it can turn into meaningful love.

To summarise, we all need a sweet voice, a presence, in order to know that it exists somewhere, in a secret place of our lives, even if its love is hidden in a file in our computer. The iron hope of humankind helps them to seek love…everywhere.