24 hours of slavery
A Poem By Ada Uzoije
My master woke me up in the morning
I had breakfast, but master was dismayed
Master wants me to feed him
I obeyed
My master walks with me to the station
I wanted to walk fast but master was sluggish
Master wants me to miss my bus
I obeyed
My master kept interrupting at my work
I wanted him to be quiet but master wants to be heard
Master wants me to keep talking
I obeyed
My master saw my manager and laughed
I wanted master to hide but he wants to be famous
Master wants my manager to see him
I obeyed
My master was rude to my manager
I lost my job and master doesn’t care
Master wants me to forgive him
I obeyed
My master sat with me and my wife during the movie
I told master to be polite but he kept talking to me
Master wants me to keep ignoring my wife
I obeyed
My master slept with me alone in the guest room
I told master l needed to resolve the disputes with my wife
Master wants me to install dating apps
I obeyed
My master sat with me in the court room
I was very unhappy but he shows me the beautiful ladies
Master wants me to sign the divorce paper
I obeyed
My master walked me down to the phone shop
I upgraded him to the newest smartphone to impress my new girl
My new master requested I dump the girl and throw him a welcome party.
I obeyed for I’m a 24-hour slave.
Photo by Tuomas_Lehtinen. www.freedigitalphotos.net
Photo by Stuart Miles. www.freedigitalphotos.net
We have a new form of digital slavery, and the smartphone is the number one culprit. It is a scheming little monster whose ultimate plan is to ruin your social emotional connection with others. The smartphones ruins relationship, breaks families, makes your friends hate you, makes you lonely, makes film lovers curse you and could potentially make you jobless. The funny thing is that everyone blames you, but no-one blames the smartphone for your problems. It’s time we hold the smartphone accountable for our problems! One word that sums up the situation in which most smartphone users don’t realise they are addicted to their phone is ‘heedless’.
I wrote this poem to express my personal observation on how most people have an unhealthy relationship with their phones. Every time I commute via the train in London, I seem to be one of the few who are reading newspapers or books, while the rest are reading the news through their smartphones and tablets. What news is this exactly? Occasionally the tabloid online newspapers, but mainly the endless questions and answers SMS text messages, celebrity gossip blogs, latest Twitter trends, Instagram selfie photos, Facebook’s voyeurism photos, YouTube’s stupid ice bucket challenge and the cat and dog fight between Google and Yahoo.
Photo by Bplanet. www.freedigitalphotos.net
Many see the smartphones as harmless as a butterfly and will die defending it. Here’s a test for you – if you believe your phone is so harmless, then don’t use it for the next 24 hours. If you don’t miss it within the 24 hours then it is not harmless, but if you miss your phone and you’re about to faint please dial 999 immediately. Most people cough up large sums of money for the acquisition of a master to enslave them at their own free will, 24 hours around the clock. How despicable is that? Are we humans not supposed to be the masters of all creation? Why do we let phone rule over us? I am the master of my phone, but are you?
Photo by Tuelekza. www.freedigitalphotos.net
