Childhood's Demise

Written when I was 14 or 15.

Do we live in a planet or a machine?
The word is contained inside a screen.
No one can keep a secret because everything is online,
Friendship has been redefined.
But can you count your friends
By the information that you send?
How did we end up like this,
All our personal information in an online abyss.
Does anyone remember what preexists
The world of video chats,
Fail Blog and LOL cats?
Do you remember when outer space
Was more interesting than Facebook and Myspace?
Children ran home to play
Outside with their neighbors all day.
Now they sit in front of the computer,
Eyes glazed over in a hypnotized stupor.
Can we go back to the fun of the past,
Save their minds, make childhood last?

Reviews

[TheElfPrincess]

A sad, but wonderful poem. Well written.

[JUSTWRITING]

Wow! Sad but true. Also its ironical that you wrote this poem when you were in your childhood. Powerful words from someone who was young (then)!

[Victoria Scott]

The poem is great..but what really touches me is the meaning and the truth....Beautifully done! It flowed great :)

[theopenbook]

your words ring so true:) nicely rhymed and phrased:)

[Tasha]

This is so true SweetEmotions and definitely one of my favorite writes by you. Keep up the good work.
♥ Ta'Shandra

[Dark Angel ~]

I found it ironic that I agreed with the "now they sit in front of the computer/eyes glazed over in a hypnotized stupor" part while I'm on the computer for the fourth time today... and when I usually spend hours at a time staring at it... :s

[d]

i want more to answer your questions here than to comment on the quality or whatever of the poem. to me, that says something good about the poem. i hope it does to you too. honestly, i think it is time for humanity to pick up and move to another planet. in the mean time, maybe start a food fight with one of these kids glued to the screen. and write lots of poems.

[Zeek4]

I was fortunate to be able to grow up in the stay out all day mode. There is a small river by my house and I never see kids playing down there. I think it's sad, but the planet keeps on turning and our gadget filled lives keeps on expanding. Childhood has been redefined and not for the better I'm afraid.

[Clay Feet]

Very topical in my mind, SweetEmotions.

Social networking sites are a trap
wrapping us in false hopes of meeting
"Friends"

I cast myself in the water and I see
Faces. Some are beautiful, some are not
Some I permit to affect my emotions
Others are inane when announcing every fart
They are one-sided, as you say.."Fail Blog and LOL cats?"

There is no turning back I fear
Those days are history for now

We are the machine of future promise
From years past
Remember when our hearts yearned
To touch loved ones instantly
and now that they are so close
We have no time for them

Childhood is much shorter
Little girls now want to be
Twenty-one at ten
Little boys learn
How to give the middle-finger salute
Yet cannot use a fork

There is no going back to
SweetEmotions

You have enlightened us further
About this new social disease

Thank you

[RedInk524]

Wow, i love the topic. Its true, sad but true. As we get smarter we also get dumber and lazier. Interesting how deeply the bitter irony extends into our lives.... :D Which is why i dont do those social sites.

Intellegence = Technology
Technology = laziness
Laziness = dumbness

Somehow, this makes sense.