I think it must’ve died around 2001?
A/S/L was the first shovel full of
dirt on its mass grave.
granted, it’s an interesting death to die
and still be present.
aware but paralyzed.
almost omnipresent.
almost subversive.
almost, yes-
but not quite.
and I suppose the screens have
become our lovers
yeah, they hold us
with each like.
we moan
as we revel in the
warmth of
surge of traffic
and embrace of viral spike.
it’s okay!
the stream will keep us conscious,
content
and unmolested.
we’re happy here!
we know happiness here?
forever and ever
perpetually
connected.
– Sheila Sea
Worryingly accurate I have to admit.
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haha agreed, I managed to scare myself too.
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Always good to scare yourself now and again.
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Forever and ever connected… I find this scary because it’s so true, and becoming more so all the time.
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yeah, I’ve been coming to this really depressing realization lately..
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Great use of words .I really enjoy the way you write. Thank you for the follow π
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Thank you so much for the kind words.
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Ah, this seems to go with the song “Normal” by Porcupine Tree I shared earlier. I’m not a Luddite, but sometimes I wish I was older, and more sentimental, as the song goes. I’m not in love with the modern world. The intimate art of hand-written letters is mostly dead, and it’s easy to be impatient and demanding, because most everyone in the modern world, is as you said, always connected, always checking social media on their phones, always wanting constant updates and feedback. It’s hard to take a step back once one is sucked in!
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As much as I’ve been around during the very beginning, my first PC a keyboard tied to a phone line and hooked up to a cassette recorder, I was really puzzled by your poem.
I hate to admit that. Then, as I bounced around on the internet in front of my screen — which screens out anything I don’t want to be exposed to (like real conversations); and as I thought of the growing experience of waiting rooms and restaurants and movie theaters where nearly everyone pulls out a tiny screen (this is going to be a run-on sentence) into which they dive, like the circus act where the hippo climbs 100 feet into the air and dives into a 1 quart bucket of water — it hit me.
Oh!
weβre happy here!
we know happiness here!
forever and ever
connected.
I see.
Yes. Depressing. We have become I, Robot. Colon plus right parenthetical curve.
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hahaha, its okay! It hit me today as well. π
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It made me think, and gave me pause.
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And there’s just so much porn to look at…
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I would suggest that the idea of screens – of technological connections – isn’t essentially depressing. Consider the connections made and created via this medium which would never have been made otherwise (Cf. the blogosphere/this very thread of interesting ideas and responses to some well-considered poetry). Surely the conversations we have via screens must too be *real* conversations? In what ways are they *unreal*? Can the stuff of human experience not still be moving or important when not face-to-face? Interestingly, the poem doesn’t appear to completely negate the value of screen-mediated connections – although heavily implies a synthetic emotional connection in the place of a physical one.
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Reblogged this on An "Urban" Anomaly .
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Niaj deziroj por Shatoj.
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I’m so sorry I don’t speak Esperanto but your comment caused me to read about it and its amazing. Hopefully you understand this comment. I read the translation of the above which is “our desires for votes”. I take this to mean you’re reffering to our desire for likes, if so.. I agree though there’s more behind our addiction. I hope this all makes sense. Thanks for exposing your language to me! π
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‘Forever connected’ A new type of addiction that I am mostly a slave to. It has its upsides though, our words shared and echoeing in cyber space perhaps forever. I try to give it a day off every now and then because I am old enough to know other ways to work, communicate and express myself, but I do worry about the generation skipping along behind me who will only know that always connected way of life.
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Wow, this reminds me on a post I wrote a few days ago… We’re ALWAYS connected, I find it’s gotten to the point where escaping the networks we’re caught in is nearly impossible. Even if we want to escape the constant connection, we won’t ever be really able to do so. Life, everyone and everything, nowadays has a direct line into our heads, be it work, school, friends or family, communication has become easier and more convenient than ever, yes, but it also has become a burdon for us, because taking a break and unwinding, disconnecting, turns out to be quite a diffucult task these days. Our minds just won’t let go of this everlasting connection.
You see, I absolutely love love love this beautifully written piece of writing!! Just wow!! Brilliant! π
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Thanks! This is exactly what I was thinking about.. the connection is so prominent that its almost personified in our daily lives. Its intense. Thanks for your comments and for stopping by to read! π
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I was thinking of this theme myself tiday but you’ve communicated it excellently here. We do constantly feed on the internet and social media now. Hopefully it’s a fad and we’ll snap out of it. Meanwhile writing is better than just the obsessive grazing on infomation.
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This is great…brought me back to a time where chat rooms were the validation of cool. It is just amazing how connected we are to the internet because a like or two can make our day. Soon everyone will find love through the computer screen…wait…that’s already happening.
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hahaha it is DEFINITELY happening and it all started with “age, sex, location???”.
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That was the first thing anyone asked back then instead of saying hello. It’s crazy!
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This one is beautiful. I wish I could write like you!
BY THE WAY!!!!….
You’re one of my favourite bloggers, so….
I’ve nominated you for the ‘Very Inspiring Blogger Award’!
https://roneshiryo.wordpress.com/
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This one almost hurts in its truth.
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