The Lonely Death of Joyce Carol Vincent

The Lonely Death of Joyce Carol Vincent

By: Erreh Svaia

Caprine Dispersion

The modern world advances at a sustained pace, distances are extended, humans are dispersed and families are reduced, it seemed a few years ago that distances would become unsustainable, but apparently two correlated phenomena caused a radical change in our way of living, the internet and globalization, the internet could contact us in real time with the rest of the world, while trade, economy and politics were linked in a single world phenomenon, for human being today more than ever it is easy to find out of what happens to the other side of the world just a few minutes after something happens, the information saturates us immediately, creating the need to develop a critical sense, the distractions grow in a monstrous way and it becomes increasingly complicated to focus, the barrier between social life / social networks and private life seems to fade away little by little, becoming little by little part of the a "reality show" that absorbs our reality and transforms it into a virtual reality, if yesterday, some relationships were formed at a distance, today it becomes simpler, and it is even somewhat surprising that even the human factor of one of the two parts could disappear, with all this, intercommunicated virtually, it seems that the distance between humans, was increasing, the technological interface becomes that link that continues to separate us and that could ironically connect us with a virtual reality and disconnect from the rest of humanity.

Joyce Carol Vincent was born on October 19 in the United Kingdom, daughter of immigrants of African and Caribbean origin, employed in an audit firm, educated, intelligent and successful, with good jobs and a good salary, victim of domestic abuse and distanced from his family, Joyce's life was gradually becoming something like a ghostly existence, fearful and embarrassed by their unfortunate situation as a couple (abuse and break apparently), Joyce ended up moving away completely from his family, from some In spite of having an education and not having a history of drug or alcohol abuse, it seems that Joyce's life began to lose direction, Joyce's friends said they loved her, but they felt somehow regretful of not having attended to them. signs, of not having asked the right questions and of not having been there, when Joyce began to isolate herself from the world, Joyce's image abroad was that of a successful, popular and happy woman who He started a trip to distant lands and that his friends did not realize that while he was leaving his job, he went to social security to get a place to sleep.

Joyce died of unknown cause in his apartment (of social security, unknown to his family) in the year of 2003 (at 38, apparently because an asthma attack), his body in severe decomposition was found in 2006, the television always on provided enough noise so that the neighbors could not find any suspicious silence, social security checks kept electricity and heating running, while they paid part of the rent, so much of those three years there was no suspicion that something was wrong, some open window allowed the entry of insects and birds, which led to major deterioration of the body, a nearby garbage canker masked the bad smell of the decomposition of his body, which could only be identified by his teeth, only until unpaid installments of rent were accumulated in a considerable amount was that the authorities decided to recover the place, finding the remains of Joyce in front of the television on.

Joyce's story has always seemed sadly fascinating to me, a preamble to the age of the internet and social networks, a warning both for those who show a happy and full life in their social networks, as well as for those "friends" who conform with seeing photos on Facebook, a warning about the deterioration in contact and the closeness between human beings that could become a prophecy to be fulfilled en masse in the time of those who have decided to live alone, who have preferred virtual life to the real, and that they have placed their contacts with the outside world in the hands of technology, the death of Joyce will soon make echoes more and more loud in our society, in which this human-machine-human interface will transport us to a universe more and more isolated, sadder and more complex to understand in time, dying is just something that should not happen, to anyone.