Do Smartphones Belong in Fiction?
This first appeared in Lit Hub’s Craft of Writing newsletter—sign up here. The novel has always been obsessed with technology.
The novel has long been shaped by technological advancements, as these innovations alter human behavior and societal structures. Historically, major technological shifts—such as the rise of cities in the 19th century or the expansion of railroads—have influenced literary techniques. For example, the growth of urban centers in Europe led to the concept of the flâneur, a wandering observer of city life described by French poet Charles Baudelaire. Similarly, the development of transcontinental railroads made it easier for writers to depict rapid changes in space and time within their stories. As industrialization made global production systems too complex for any single person to understand, literature shifted inward, giving rise to free indirect discourse, a narrative technique where a character's thoughts and feelings blend with the narrator's voice. This technique remains a fundamental tool for modern novelists.
The internet has become a central feature of contemporary life, and writers are now grappling with how to represent it authentically in fiction. Author Ankur Thakkar’s novel Blow Yourself Up explores the internet’s evolution from a novelty to a ubiquitous tool, ending just before the rise of artificial intelligence. Thakkar faced the challenge of depicting digital interactions—such as texts, notifications, and social media posts—without making them feel separate from real-life experiences. Some contemporary writers have experimented with unconventional formats, like Calvin Kasulke’s Several People Are Typing, which is composed entirely of Slack messages, or Jennifer Egan’s short story Black Box, originally published in 607 tweets. These approaches emphasize the digital medium itself, but Thakkar chose a different path, using traditional prose while integrating digital elements seamlessly into the narrative.
Thakkar argues that the boundary between digital and real life is often artificial, as people frequently blend online interactions with face-to-face experiences. For instance, a text message from a friend can feel just as meaningful as an in-person conversation, and memes are often dropped casually into discussions. Thakkar does not claim that digital experiences are equivalent to physical ones—for example, viewing a painting on a phone screen cannot replace seeing it in a museum—but he suggests that these experiences are deeply intertwined in modern cognition. In Blow Yourself Up, Thakkar avoids visual distinctions like chat bubbles or timestamps, aiming to reflect how people naturally perceive digital interactions as part of their everyday reality. This approach seeks to complicate the idea that digital life is separate from the physical world.
In one scene from Blow Yourself Up, the main character, Payal, is on a date when she receives a notification that her video has been reposted by a large account. This event triggers a cascade of likes, comments, and new followers, forcing Payal to navigate both the digital and physical dimensions of the moment. While her date remains unaware of what is happening online, Payal is distracted by the influx of attention, creating a disconnect between them. The scene illustrates how digital interactions can intrude on real-life experiences, shaping emotions and behaviors in ways that may not be visible to others. Thakkar uses this moment to highlight the tension between the digital and physical worlds, showing how they coexist in a person’s consciousness.
Thakkar’s novel *Blow Yourself Up* is a love story that traces the internet’s transformation from a playful tool to a utilitarian platform and, ultimately, to what he describes as a *hellscape*. The novel aims to capture the essence of this technological shift and its impact on human relationships and identity. By integrating digital experiences into the narrative without emphasizing their artificiality, Thakkar seeks to make the internet feel as ordinary as the smartphones people carry in their pockets. The goal is to allow the story to focus on the deeper question of how technology has changed who we are, rather than treating digital life as a separate or exotic realm. The novel’s approach reflects Thakkar’s belief that the internet is now an intrinsic part of modern existence.
