Jared had always lived a quiet life in the off-grid commune, nestled somewhere between the mountains and a vague sense of superiority. His family, along with the rest of the community, had chosen to live without modern conveniences. They grew their own food, made their own clothes, and spent evenings by candlelight discussing the evils of technology, capitalism, and processed foods. Jared knew the...

_“Thirty minutes, starting now for Owen Chen, Sector 25–“_

The automatic voice drones on through the speakers of the Entertainment Room, the device at my desk thrumming to life as I take a seat.

After fifteen years of waiting, I am finally allowed access to the Epitome of Entertainemnt, a platform said to withhold infinite information.

I smile at the sight of a wide screen glowing with artifici...

Wait

What’s this?

It’s the internet

This is really different

Hermit...

The Worlds in Shambles

OH what a shame

No one to turn to

And screens to blame

With the tap of a finger

The swipe of a thumb 

Instantly lost, in a world

Made of pixels and fun

But that's not real

It is so surreal

Lost in this world 

Scroll after scroll

It’s created a society of goldfish

Easily controlled

One doesn't need to think!

Soulful discussions

Are a thing of the past

Just Consume ingest Devo...

We weren’t supposed to interact with anyone but from our community. We lived in our own world in the middle of nowhere woods.

And I followed that rule. Until one day when my sister, who had a phone for emergencies, showed me something.

It was called social media.

I loved it, and I hated it. It felt cool to see people from all over the world. But when again, it was also creepy. I didn’t want random...

“So pretty cool right? I can’t believe you’ve never played Vams. It is kind of like Sims but like a thousand times cooler. You were made for this game, Zar?” Austin said. “It’s all vampires."

Rocking in his gamer chair, Austin adjusted his headset. A few weeks back, he’d met the coolest kid at the Midnight Madness Murder Moviefest. Confident and deadpan funny, Balthazaar “Zar” for short was a tot...

He put his laptop away. It was the only means he was allowed to search the web. His hands itched for more…

He knew the potential this technology had, but he also knew his own weakness. The entirety of human history, culture, art etc were at his fingertips and yet he always found himself scrolling past mindless videos of scantily clad women lip syncing or dancing…

He would lose track of time whi...

I sit before a blinding white colour box. I was told to ask this this box any questions. This is the internet. The words ask me to search within God or type Earl. I type ‘Answers’ using the flat typewriter. The librarian with amusement tells me to press enter on the flat typewriter. The colour box changes and words appear. I use the rodent mover to start clicking.

There are many faces to this col...

They said

“Here! Give it a try!”

Jokes on them

I now want to die

They sent me the screen

And sent me away

Now this is the only way

I can pass my days

Scroll scroll scroll

Tap tap tap

Humm, I might just take a nap

Sleeping is easier

Then retuning to my life

Of emotion and confusion

I’ll always have to fight

But with this thing

This tiny, glowing screen

I don’t have to worry

I don’t have to be...

i’m finally allowed on social media at the age of 17. My parent were very strict growing up. i couldn’t do a thing. It made me a very contained child, I don’t talk much or have many friends in school. i downloaded instagram. Five mixtures later i got a notification “amanda.444 followed you”. amanda was a popular girl, I was surprised to see her follow me. I opended the app and followed her back an...