As Ernest Cline’s new book Armada was just released, fans both new and old are flashing back to his first novel, Ready Player One. Loaded with pop culture references from the past few generations, gamers found solace in a world where they could relate. On the otherhand, the world in Ready Player One has become so desolate yet so advanced that people don’t only prefer to, but actually spend the vast majority of their hours in a virtual reality world as opposed to the real one.
It may not be the year 2044 as in the book, but we’re already headed in the direction of a technology-driven life. Kids, and adults, can attend school completely online. Google is testing cars that drive themselves. Teenagers spend more time on video games and cellphones than they do outdoors playing games in the neighborhood. Even adults spend hours binge-watching television shows and playing games like internet poker.
What is all of this technology doing to us? Are we the same people behind the screen as we are in real life? Online we have the advantage of anonymity. If we don’t want to be known, we can hide behind a screen name and act as anyone we choose. This can be both a good thing and a bad thing, as we are free to speak our true feelings and thoughts, but yet we also can’t ever know 100% who we are talking to in chatrooms, or the validity of what people post on websites.
As we strive to improve our lives and make advancements in technology, it makes you wonder – are we really bettering our lives with technology or is technology replacing humanity?
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Stories & Scripts 
Ive read this book, and I enjoyed it. Then I had a friend who lives where this book takes place. He also liked it, but he pointed out that the way they describe some of the locations for specific time frames were incorrect!