Technology in Horror

Technology has had a rapid growth in society in rapid years. Almost everyone you meet is going to have some kind of tablet, smart phone, or laptop. With that, came social media. Platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat and so on. Because technology has become such a big part of our everyday lives, this gave writers fresh ideas to show the dark sides of technology. How can technology be scary? Well, its not as far fetched as you'd think. Take the 2015 horror movie Unfriended for example. I love this movie. The entire movie takes place on a computer screen setting a good example for a technology based movie and a fresh take on the emerging found footage films that horror movies are starting to implement. An embarrassing video of Laura Barnes is anonymously posted online. The bullying that resulted from the video causes Laura to kill herself. On the one year anniversary, the six friends who played different roles in the suicide are all video chatting on Skype. The group begins to receive messages on their various social media accounts by Laura. At first they think its just a troll who hacked her account but when strange things begin to happen on their computers, they realize that Laura wants revenge. If the friends try to run away or log off, she posses them and forces them to commit suicide but not before taking control of their social media accounts and posting evidence about what role they played in her suicide causing their pages to be flooded with hate comments before dying. If Stephen King's Carrie wasn't enough to show you that bullying is wrong, then this movie certainly will. With all that being said, a number of CreepyPasta's have implemented technology as a basis for their stories. A good example of this is the story Annie96 is Typing about two friends who are chatting but when Annie starts to talk about hearing someone in her house, the friend on the other end is left with the message "Annie 96 is typing...". That's only about half the story. This is only one example of how technology is used as a new scare factor for the new generation. I will post about more in blogs that follow.

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