In the same way that psycho-analysis makes use of dream interpretation, it also profits by the study of the numerous little slips and mistakes which people make—symptomatic actions, as they are called […] I have pointed out that these phenomena are not accidental, that they require more than physiological explanations, that they have a meaning and can be interpreted, and that one is justified in inferring from them the presence of restrained or repressed impulses and intentions.
— Sigmund Freud
I’m starting to think the autocorrect function on my mobile knows my innermost secrets. Before you suggest I seek therapy, I am proud to say I already have – years of psychoanalysis which has helped me, I believe, not crumble into a panic or run to the medicine cabinet to rid myself of the idea that my subconscious is connected to an app. Instead, I am embracing the notion that in correcting misspellings in my texts, some words are being changed (usually without my realizing before I click and send) for my emotional betterment.
As an example, I recently sent this simple text to a friend about an event we were considering attending:
“I would love to go.”
But when I checked a few moments later on what I sent, it read:
“I would live to go.”
My friend, perhaps (or not) guessing the error, joked (or not) back:
“Please don’t die even if you can’t make it.”
I was embarrassed, but the feeling was fleeting as it dawned on me that the switch from “love” to “live” was prescient, as before I wrote the text I had been lamenting (and feeling) an aging and aching body after some spring-cleaning yard work. Basically, I was worried about my mortality, and considering hiring a landscaper, while I tapped out the message. Thus, the word change not only reinforced my true feelings, but it also coaxed them out into the open. I saw this as a positive. If the “mistake” hadn’t happened, perhaps my fears would remain suppressed and embedded in my psyche, finding neurotic nourishment and somatic strength as a potent provocateur for a death-deflecting mid-life crisis involving motorcycle mash-ups, creative comb-overs, and felonious flirting.
Bad alliteration and melodrama aside, I don’t think it’s wrong to look for deeper meaning and psychological insight within the autocorrect feature. To me, it’s using everything at one’s disposal in order to better understand ourselves, while also inserting a bit of magic realism into the often mundane text message. Socrates said, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” So it is up to us to find footholds into the exploration.
For me, moving forward, it will be one Freudian click at a time.
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