Immediately upon opening the book the unconventional format is apparent. The composition is predominantly images with minimal words, resembling those of a technological device. If a book can become like the internet, what else can? The Age of Earthquakes claims that human experiences and interactions have been forever changed. It is the increasing prevalence and dependence on the Internet resulting in these alterations. Irony is created as the book mimics the structure of the Internet while making commentary on its negative consequences. One such human experience that is manipulated is time. This is demonstrated as there is no division, sections or chapters, between ideas. Each page is turned without pause like clicking an internet link that leads to infinitely more links. Time becomes irrelevant and the idea of ease becomes essential. I fell subject to this as I moved through the text quickly but was frustrated at pages with slightly more words. The book suggests that our brains have been rewired to expect everything to be achieved by clicking. This touch of a button, comfort of your own home ease applies to everything from gathering information to making friends. At first, it was difficult to understand the title, but I interpreted the reference to earthquakes as a characteristic of how as participation in the online world begins to dominate, the offline world that is reality and solid ground begins to shift and collapse. In the end, the book doesn't offer a solution to the consequences the internet has created, you must choose which world to live in: online or offline? I acknowledge that while the consuming characteristics of the internet suggested are true, I refuse to believe that using the internet should permanently detach me from my traditional human experiences. So, I ask, how can I have both?
(298 Words)
Caitlin Kimes, 3A, Courtney Hendricks
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