What Happens When We Can’t Read Other People’s Diaries

Twas a great story on Radio Ireland a few days ago. The radio station solicited their listeners for found diaries. And the listeners responded with journals that they discovered in the attics their houses. First person writings from the 1800s in Ireland were read aloud on the air.

It was captivating to listen to the stories. Which got me thinking about our contemporary times. One hundred years from now how is anyone going to be able to find any of the digital diaries that are being written today?

Technology is failing us here. It is doubtful that a found, one hundred year old computer will still work. And even if it did. And even if a person from one hundred years in the future was able to find a digital diary in the forest of family photos and pornographic pictures, the damn thing will probably be password protected and encrypted.

Good God, the thought of the future having to rely solely on the information on the internet for a portrait of who we were is positively nauseating.