An APP for the Day

Moderns seeking motivation
From words that challenge or inspire
Often turn to social media
For goals to which they would aspire

And apple a day keeps the doctor away
Was once the best prescription
The modern version of this advice
Let an APP feed your addiction!

The range of apps is now extensive
By which friends communicate
But not only news or juicy gossip
Ideas too, they circulate

But some suggest it’s gone too far
The speed of growth impressive
From hero worship to hate mail
Their influence excessive

Many are the diverse platforms
Employed their message to proclaim
Words to lift our flagging temper
Our languid spirits to inflame

Carpe diem – seize the day
Be a rainbow in someone’s cloud
Make each day your masterpiece
Let inner joy shout out loud

New thoughts to guide our living
Pithy aphorisms retailed on Facebook
LinkedIn, What’s App, and Snap Chat
Ideas made visible on YouTube

TikTok, Twitter vie to catch your eye or ear
Instagram and Flikr seek to grab attention
Each purveying instant wisdom
Boost our happiness, shrink our tension

But all this has made me wonder
Can brief messages be life changing?
Well-chosen words can have impact
But life is complex, its paths wide ranging

Unlike Bible texts or rulings Ex Cathedra
Demanding all the world’s respect
Can social media’s daily diktats
Ever have equal effect?

I suppose they can despite being mere opinion
Hoping that we all may heed
Inducing us to spend, adopt a view
But why should we concede?

Keep social media under tight rein
No doubt it can give inspiration
Stretch your mind, expand horizons
Words and images firing your imagination

But let no-one else control your fate
No weasel words should e’er dictate
You were born free, chose your own path
Deny influencers their right to dominate

Ken Fisher