"Happiness is only real, when shared"

Often  Hollywood Movies  are dismissed as entertainment and their messages are lost upon the audience. Recent box office hits show the complex dynamic between the increasing solitude or isolation brought on by technology dependence. Though completely different, Into the wild and The Social Network  share an underlying theme of solitude and isolation brought on by an increase of industrialization and most specifically, technology. 

The Social Network more directly relates to technology, as the film depicts the startup of Facebook. The beautiful irony in the film is that MarkZuckerberg and his friends started the social networking website as a means of curing their own loneliness. Despite the widespread success of the application, the increased isolation and solitude forced on Zuckerberg throughout the film helps to balance the “good and evil” of technological advancements. Social media and technology has made us forget and miss out the basics of human interaction.  We have replaced human contact for technological replacements. Often we have used social media as a replacement for real connections, and we have convinced ourselves that those are the connections that matter.

Into the wild is a little more ambiguous when connecting it with technology. The meaning of solitude and technology needs to be applied to the film analysis in order to obtain the deeper meaning. After having it all, Christopher decides to leave everything behind and starts a journey to find himself. He got tired of everything, and realized he didn’t know who he was and what he wanted.  In a way, our society has used technology as an escape, the same way  as Christopher used nature. More and more we forget what is around us and technology dominates our lives, isolating us from our surroundings. But no matter how much we try to isolate ourselves there is a point in which  we understand that  "Happiness is onlyreal, when shared" When Christopher decides to return and to go back to his loved ones, he realizes is not that easy. This is a metaphor of what could happen with us: the  more we get  dependent on technology,  when we desire to return we will find a river as wide as the one Christopher found.   

The message of both films is clear. As the industrialized world continues to make advancements in technology, it will be important for users to distance their dependence. Though forms of technology have an incredible ability to facilitate daily tasks and operations, as with anything in life it must be used and applied in moderation. "Happiness is only real, when shared"