1Earthling

Phones grew smaller year by year,
fitting in a pocket now.
Calls arriving through the day.
Messages back and forth.

People hurried home daily.
Friends to meet online.
Nobody thought about it much.
Just another thing to do.

People going out together,
seeing films and bands at night.
But lives were slowly changing,
quietly beneath it all.

Some still held to older rhythms.
Others somewhere on the screen.
The world became a little closer
when connected by a screen.

Profiles built in bedrooms.
Songs playing across the page.
Photos changed each weekend.
Worldwide connections made.

Old school friends appearing.
People talking after years.
Lives unfolding on screens
for all the world to see.

People going out together,
seeing films and bands at night.
But lives were slowly changing,
quietly beneath it all.

Some still held to older rhythms.
Others somewhere on the screen.
The world became a little closer
when connected by a screen.

Dinner finished, friends waiting.
Messages through the evening.
People stayed online longer,
socialising late at night.

Distance slowly lost its meaning,
changing into something new.
People stayed connected longer
with an online life they grew.

Tom still worked behind systems.
Servers humming through the night.
Most just watched social changes.
He watched the structure grow.

Signal towers climbed hillsides.
Networks spread town to town.
Most still never saw the systems
quietly growing underground.

People going out together,
seeing films and bands at night.
But lives were slowly changing,
quietly beneath it all.

Some still held to older rhythms.
Others somewhere on the screen.
The world became a little closer
when connected by a screen.