A Bit Too Much

Verse 1

I remember that glow Of folks online I know Staring at posts I could stay current Friendship could flourish Status, could earn it Was certain it's dope Share yourself with the world What could go wrong? All voices heard, thank God Then I watched Friends So nice in person In the comments They're at their worst And their content? That's not them Conspiracy caught again Furious postering Thought I knew 'em Damn …Am I losing it?

So toxic, these networks I don't wanna mess with Problem is: I wanna talk stay connected I forget the medium's the message It says immediacy and our image Trumps the authentic

But trust is Hard to develop Quick to erode All is embellished Flash and the pose Role is irrelevant Speak to provoke

Cacophony, not reflective thought To be seen or sought, We only got three seconds on the clock It seems Then we're gone

Chorus 1

Ah, shucks It's a bit too much Has the world gone nuts? I can't see through the mud Is everything as fucked As it seems because Dunno know who to trust And I'm afraid of us

Maybe I must Just ignore this stuff Yeah! I gotta unplug That's it But this thing's a crutch Plus The people I love Are still stuck in the muck Fuck When's enough enough? Is this rush too tough to rise above?

Verse 2

Can't say no to a chance to matter To be in the know with constant access Off-screen, I bow my neck and stroke the glass On-screen, life fits the pixels of their apps

Just wanna be seen, be heard Identity; altered Everything; proffered To the algo's altar Our brains stolen by bros on the West Coast To attain their goals we willingly sold ourselves

Inequality grows Between us and those Writing the code Our scroll, fervent They own the servers We're the unpaid servants

It's a game for the gullible Concede our power more With every post Attention war Desperate for likes Their wealth multiplies

Insentient code Trained on the data troves We handed over Souls, converted Composted, repurposed Addiction, coercion

Statistical "if-then" cope Invisible hands choke Direct commands; madness commence The algo, we all go

Wait a sec Tell me if I got the benefits straight, right I supply data bits; you spy on my life Till you know my head better than my wife Then I provide content for my network to imbibe And the payment for this labor? Nothing? Okay then… what's the bribe?

(In)formed every second through the timeline Reinforce my view every time I swipe Can't afford to learn anew Head full of headlines all so you Get to fuck with my mind, polarize me in kind Sell me shit through advertising For an appetizing sense: I do socialize

Content to present me for the lights Authenticity, a form of lies I'll form my life for the likes From informal ties You formalized impulsivity, hyperactivity Undermine democracy Shrinking brain size Limbic hijacked stolen mind

Empathy eroded Focus dies Suddenly dysmorphic And my body's broken Exposed to memes That deride genes corrosively And I can't believe The means you'd go Forging crime Forego ties With the profit model Stop!

You produced An engine to groom Young men into Extremist groups You bring in child abuse Neuroticism through the roof Preteens accosted by Creeps for nudes Cyberbullied youth die Suicide rises As you hide inside Closed rooms in high-rises And why?

Just crude connection, pitiful projection Handful of likes from a girl we met in Junior High

Christ A divine gold mine Our minds; colonized Go along like it's fine How the fuck do they sleep at night?

Chorus 2

Ah, shucks It's a bit too much Has the world gone nuts? I can't see through the mud Is everything as fucked As it seems because Dunno know who to trust And I'm afraid of us

Maybe I'm just Making a fuss Yeah, it ain't dangerous It's cool It won't endanger us But This push-and-shove Is shedding blood Fuck, Zuck Are we on the cusp Is this cut too deep to clean up?

Finale

"Inspire creativity and bring joy" (Screen)-bingers, unemployed We aspired to be astronauts and doctors, remember? Now kids just wanna be influencers "Putting people first" Sure You put out our worst Coerced to "Capture and Share" Grab the moment, hope for reactions Don't inhabit what's actually here "Bring people closer to (the) things they love." By shoving a screen between all of us? Invade our most intimate talks and thoughts Time tick-tocks, life is gone "The power to build community" Stop! Bowing for profit, this fingernail grip that we've got is Doomed to be One exhale from being lost