Alt Title:  Am I crazy, or is it hot in here?

I have a friend who suspected his partner of gaslighting him.  When he used that term it wasn’t a terribly popular turn of phrase, at least around here, but I knew what he meant, if only because I am a fiend for classic movies: Ingrid + Charles 

I’m not trying to make light of insecurity bordering on mental illness, but it occurred to me today that gaslighting is going to be much harder to achieve in this technology-rich time.

Exhibit 1: I had a friend who claimed to delete all texts at the end of the day. It strikes me that that shows a high level of confidence in either one’s memory…. or in one’s capacity to not give a shit about what someone else said.

Exhibit 2: Technology played a role in this woman’s situation too: In the end she installed a Nanny Cam and recorded him doing creepy things with her belongings.

It’s just that whole thing about meaning what you say and saying what you mean– as much as we also live in the time of Catfish, where Technology aids the wrong-doers, going forward, we can also count on having conversations recorded, whole relationships documented, and that’s not even touching on the CCTV movement in places like Great Britain. Here’s my NetFlix pick on that subject: You can’t deny you did it.

So… Human Nature doesn’t change, I suppose…. for every Ingrid Bergman there is a Charles Boyer, but our tools improve. Getting tied to a chair until you produce the jewels is maybe a little passe… but a Catfish might still try to steal cash, log into your Facebook account and change your relationship status.

Man, these latter-day Boyers are NOT cut from the same cloth at all…..