In her article “Plug in Better,” Alexandra Samuel discusses not only how unplugging causes more frustration with technology, but offers life altering advice on how to stay plugged while still avoiding the negative affects of technology. Samuel starts similarly to Anderson by emphasizing the negative ways technology has dictated our lives thus far, but then offers us a new ray of light. The possibility to live alongside technology and utilize its power becomes very real. Samuel offers one of the best pieces of advice, at least from what I have seen, in terms of living with technology; “…accept the fact that, no, you can’t be everywhere and do everything” (Samuel 3). She discusses how we constantly live with the feeling of missing out due to social media sites such as Instagram or Snapchat. Now, I know some may be thinking “just accepting things” is easier said than done, but Samuel even offers a cheat she usesnfor those not ready for acceptance, and that is to essentially put your overbearingly present friends’ notifications on Do Not Disturb. Personally, I feel as though I live by her philosophy of acceptance. I have gone my whole life so far constantly stressing about everything from school to family to money. Maybe today I don’t do well on a quiz. I could either mope around in my room or what I do is accept that, yes, I failed my quiz but there will be other times. There will be other assignment and quizzes just like there will be other times for you to go to a party or hang out with friends. This, I believe, is one of the most influential sections of Samuels’ argument.
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