This era of technology is good:

Kids in third world countries

can access the internet.

Trees don’t need to be cut down,

we can read the news online.

We carry the power of a dictionary as we move,

access to more information than we could imagine.

Technology is a creator.

Creating better opportunities,

better communication,

and better creativity.

But how can all this new technology be good?

When we would rather check the Instagram feed,

than check on our friends?

Technology is a thief.

Stealing our time,

our education,

our social skills,

and our mental health.

The silence is so loud,

yet no one can hear it.

The bus ride home is not for talking

but instead for texting.

I’m writing about the small computers in our hands,

but I’m not innocent—

No one is.