My Tech Addiction
My laptop think it rules my life,
The iPad thinks so too,
My smartphone, maybe not so much,
But they command my time, it’s true.
Checking email, paying bills,
Messaging my friends,
Writing stories, essays, poems,
Or just surfing the Net.
Things have changed since I was young.
I spent my time outside,
On combat games, and riding bikes,
Or maybe chasing girls.
Then came work and much less play,
The grind of 9 to 5.
Computers slowly introduced
But their effect was nigh.
But gradually they overthrew
Most aspects of the work,
Becoming indispensable
In my line, office clerk.
Now I’m retired from “normal” work
And choose to write online
The laptop is my tool of choice,
It’s turned on all the time.
The iPad’s used when I’m in bed,
Or if I’m not at home,
And maybe if it needs a charge
I resort to my smartphone.
Unless i’m in the garden,
Or cleaning out the shed
I’m joined to one of the above,
And it’s doing in my head.
I’m going to turn off the power
And shut the f…ing lid,
Take out a notebook and a pen
And write with that instead.
Oh, how wonderful this feels,
A travel back in time.
My handwriting is terrible!
In that I once took pride.
But, when I finish writing
I have no other option,
To publish what I wrote, online,
I need my tech addiction.
by John Hansen © 2019
For more works by this author visit John Hansen Author Page
More great works by John can be found at John Hansen on HubPages.
https://hubpages.com/@jodah
Longtime poet but not in the traditional technical sense. I enjoy rhyme but like to experiment and dabble in many different forms and maybe even make up some of my own. There is always a message or lesson I want to promote through my writing, for that reason, my poetry generally shies away from the abstract and obscure.
– John Hansen
Now I find myself branching out and experimenting with short fiction, and thoroughly enjoying this, especially flash fiction.
I have been fortunate to have two poems made into songs and recorded. The first "On the Road to Kingdom Come" by Al Wordlaw, and the second, "If I Could Write a Love Poem" by award-winning Israeli/British singer Tally Koren.
My services increasingly in demand as a freelance writer and I have ghost-written the text for a number of children's books and educational tutorials.
It has taken me many years of searching and restlessness to realise that my life's passion is to write. It saddens me that I wasted so many years not devoting to that, but thinking positively, the experiences gained over those years are now wonderful material for my stories and poems.
I want to try to bring a new focus on poetry and try to make it appealing to a new generation of young people and those who thought they never liked or understood it before.
- The First Word – A Flash Fiction Story - January 18, 2024
- Dawns Song ~ and Twilight Serenade - December 1, 2023
- Weave Me a Story - June 15, 2023
How true for all of us, John. Isn’t it incredible that we cannot do without all the tech items to keep in touch with everyone and publish our works? Did you know that here in America students are no longer taught cursive writing? It is a shame, but the educational system says we no longer need cursive writing with all the technology we have. Good job on this tech addiction poem.
Thanks for reading Phyllis. Yes, it is sad that we are tied to these items. I heard it mentioned that they have stopped teaching cursive writing in the USA, and it will only be a matter of time before the same happens here. As I said in my poem I always prided myself on my hand writing, now I only seem to jot down quick notes without much care. I really need to start spending more time practicing my hand writing again.
The wonders of tech have open new doors for those with a creative mind – it also has closed just as many doors. Your piece puts all of that in the spotlight John – very well done.
Hi Kurt, yes you expressed that well. I guess we have to take the good with the bad or vice versa. Thanks for reading this.
John, I need my tech addiction too. There is something about writing online that compels me to write more. I have always written in notebooks but once it is finished I am sharing it somewhere online. Fun poem to read I was nodding in agreement the whole time. Jamie
It looks like we have a lot in common Jamie. No matter how hard we may try to not let technology control our lives it is easier said than done.