By Sylvia Hubilla
Round Rock, Texas
Flowers and chocolates, sweet nothings whispered, or scribbled on fragrant cards caress fluttering hearts. Valentine’s Day conjure up warm feelings of love. A magical spell all but whips up the heat globally on this day of hearts.
And then, technology happens. The world deliriously welcomed it, basked in its joy of virtual interconnectivity, irregardless of physical distance. This one too, heated up the globe as social media and its devices entrenched itself into life, as we know it. E cards displace the red envelope in the mailbox. We no longer have to waste time to spell out the four letter word LOVE. We can just hit the emoticon and a heart is sent as fast as you click “send.” No time wasted to give hugs, or blow kisses, just choose the emoticon, and click “send.”
Unknowingly it seems, as we reveled in the frenzy of the newness of this technology, something cold and insidious was creeping into our day to day life, until before we knew it, it was engulfing us like the crippling cold of an arctic blast. We are not unlike Princess Anna, Frozen. We have become virtual prisoners in this polar vortex we call technology. We are, as it were, afflicted with…..
Digital Disconnect
across each other in a coffee shop, sitting,
heads bowed, eyes transfixed
fingers on devices, tapping.
steam from the cappuccino rising
the creamy foam so inviting.
talk at each other,
or not talk at all,
lol and omg
it doesn’t matter after all.
The steam has turned into mist.
The foam has gone flat to the taste.
relationships so quickly built, <3
and just as quickly broken 🙁
in the tweet of a second
in acronym and emoticon.
Words unsaid, hands unheld. feelings on hold,
The coffee has gone cold.
With digital divide, the coffee has gone cold.
