This is where I mislead people
Of how broken I am
By putting an act
That I'm very happy
Just like the smiling photos seen in your timeline

My stomach twists and turns
every time I see you staring down at your phone screen
as I’m trying to conversate with you
but you don’t dare look up at me,
probably because you don’t care about what I have to say
your phone is more interesting...

You pose and pout,
Seduction by superficial sauciness.
You tell me of your day
With that simpering voice,
Raising each last word
Long and loud.

You show me your flash cars,
Your sumptuous wardrobe
And who knows what else?

You and your kin call yourselves “Influencers” –
A great word,
But all you do is make people:
People who have grafted long and hard
For a little spare cash,
Go buy things they
Do not really need.

Right Said Fred was Right:
The global catwalk
Is a sham.

I too would love to be an “Influencer”,
Such a fine word,
But I would be one to encourage folk
To Love others,
Stop all this Conflict
Between polar opposites and extremes,
Fight only for the Common Good,
And make the world a better place
For All.

Paul Butters

© PB 15\1\2021.

Oh, men.

How we lend our ears to the siren's song

Just to realize

that the siren's wrong

If you want to be a true influencer
you should put in some actual work
****** the Archduke of Austria and his wife
The Duchess of Hohenberg
Gavrilo Princip did not have many followers
He did not have any discount codes for his online store
He had a simple dream to  break off Austria-Hungary's South Slav provinces so they could be combined into a Yugoslavia, and instead he started a world war
If you want to influence society
for centuries to come
Stop being a coward posting vacation pics online
Go out and get yourself a gun

With mighty aplomb
You drop your vitreous 'view bomb'
With unorthodox precision
You squander my decision

You have one filter
And that is to kilter
The views that don't come from a stranger
The views that echo in your echo chamber

Fair pity to those who reach out with an olive branch
To give you another chance
A chance to move away from grief
A chance to turn over another leaf

Magic Mobile in my hand,
Who is the wonder of the Web?
Who's so special in the social?
Who should I follow?
Who should I love?
Who should I leave?

Swipe, here’s an archetype,
Swipe, that’s a stereotype,
Swipe, a melody pipe,
Swipe, the vibe of the tribe,
Swipe, don’t wait, subscribe.

Magic mobile in my hand,
Turn me into a pixel ray,
Let me through the display,
Into an ocean of emotion without delay,
Don’t wanna think I wanna play.