I’ve stopped scrolling

A spoken-word riff written with Facebook in mind at the time.

I've stopped scrolling



I've stopped scrolling.
I've stopped scrolling.
I've stopped scrolling.
I've stopped scrolling.

I've stopped scrolling
Into the hands of the people that sell
Stopped scrolling
Into whatever that the people want to tell
I've stopped scrolling
Out of boredom, looking for a way out
But pulling wires tighter till they cut my skin

I've stopped scrolling

All through the evening with nowhere to go
stopped scrolling
Into the brains of some people I know
But do I know?
I've stopped scrolling
Spending dimes of free time
While holding the breath of my intelligence in

Intelligence comes from nourishing healing
While intellect just covers up that sinking feeling
That brushed-up words can't hide the person within
A rented soul somewhere beyond the camera lens

Stopped scrolling
Intentionally into manufactured collectivity
Interaction without society
The crowd without the family

Stopped scrolling
Introspection, masked as community
Scrolling
Immobility guised as productivity
Scrolling
Past every different flavour of 'me'
Caged and on display for all 'the world' to see

I hear nothing
Smell nothing
Taste nothing
It deadens me.
I've stopped scrolling.

Author's Note

I wrote this specifically to dissuade two 20-year-olds from spending their days and nights on social media while their brains were growing.

Reviews

[jacob erin-cilberto]

it impedes the brain i believe...all this social media, texting...
etc. shortcuts to information...laziness comes about and a lack of socialization...with no face to face.
this reminds me of students where i teach...as I wait to get into the classroom and watch the previous class let out...immediately all of the students grab their phones and are texting as they walk out of the room...
they are like the walking dead.
excellent poem...
excellent statement on our society.
j.

[adichie]

Haha! I know! And it doesn’t get any better as they get older... I’ve seen execs risk life and limb shuffling across busy streets, praying to their devices.

Thank you for another lovely comment!!! :):)

Deb

[Lea Sheryn]

I stopped too!

Good idea! Social media shouldn't be a lifestyle. Young people should find better things to do with their time.

[Robert Trakofler]

I happened to scroll down my feed and saw this:) I like this... I think we all can get caught up easily in the digital ether I am 50 and am definitely part of the first wave of computer gaming generation so I'm included in your message for sure! Having once participated in one particular online game I got pretty hooked for a while and then I started to see how all of these folks were spending so much time playing these games and then it struck me like a two by four across the forehead... they were playing cause they hated there real lives and this alternate universe was much happier for them. Many of them put these online personas that weren't nearly a reflection of themselves in reality. When I quit the game people acted as if I was dying it was a very strange feeling.

[Kelly Scheppers]

It is mind boggling how preoccupied we've become with technology today. Nothing is personal anymore, not on any level. But this is how we've evolved - I find it rather sad.

[adichie]

You know how people talk about being one paycheque away from homelessness? Well, I think most of,the world is one power outage away from Armageddon. Not really sure that this is what God intended by the end of days, since were doing it to ourselves, but yes, it’s very sad!!!

Thanks for your comment today, Kelly. I appreciate you.

Deb

[Kelly Scheppers]

You are such a sweetheart...and very welcome!

[Jade]

This is wonderful, i really enjoyed the thought you put into this.

[adichie]

Thank you so much, Brandie Jade!!

Deb

[Kay Salisu Titilola]

As I was pondering about this piece, my mind stoop and I began to wonder if we still have young people that take life more serious. Video games, web surfing, hanging around with friends and many more of this time wasting devices have been making them too busy to structure the future of their lives. And these are things they'll surely carry on into their adult life if they didn't stop scrolling as you've titled this piece.

I think it's time for the world to revive and awake from their long sleep. Today's youths grow up to be tomorrow leaders, and they'll probably influence the world with what they've aquire.

-: Humble Kay
I rest my case.

[adichie]

See, the weird thing is that it took a world,like the one we came from to build the internet. I’d be willing to bet that an internet world is completely incapable of creating the generous, abundant, multifaceted world that only comes in analog.

Thank you so much, Kay!!! :):)

Deb

[Kay Salisu Titilola]

You are absolutely right.
I used to say a statement that "The more the technology development, the lazier the world become." And if we keep on this way, the world will be filled with fools.

[Lydia Shutter]

Oh this is great. I think that too many people....young and old....spend far too much time with electronic devices instead of interacting with people and seeing the world around them. It is sad. A lot of people should heed the words here. Well written. Lydi**

[adichie]

Thanks, Lydia... I make a conscious effort to spend time outdoors and in service to others, in addition to my work life. It straightens my backbone, just enjoying the shade of a tree and taking in the fragrance of the leaves and the grass. I remember to be glad to be alive when my senses come into immediate contact with living things. I’ve never seen a pixel carry even one cell of real life.

Deb ;)

[Lydia Shutter]

Very wise way to live, Deb. Lydi*

[John the Baptist]

"Interaction without society." Quite a devastating take on Facebook here. This would make good reading for Mark Zuckerberg.

[adichie]

Thanks so much, John! Smiles to you. :):)

Deb