Trapped in a Digital Hole

I open up the app to find a friend,

A way to make the lonely feeling end.

I swipe through faces, happy, smart, and kind,

Hoping a special someone I will find.

The app says, "Look! A match for you is here!"

It fills my lonely heart with hope and cheer.

But then it whispers, in a voice so sly,

"Don't stop now, keep scrolling, don't you cry."

It shows me someone taller, someone new,

And says, "This one is better just for you!"

So I let the first one quietly fade away,

To chase the one I might meet yesterday.

I have a hundred matches, it's a fact,

But zero real connections, that's the act.

I'm talking to the air, just typing words,

It's getting more and more for all the birds.

I'm shopping for a person, like a toy,

And it is stealing all my hope and joy.

The more I use the app to feel less lone,

The more I feel I'm sitting all alone.

It's just a game the app makes me play,

To keep me coming back, day after day.

It sells me hope, but leaves me with a sigh,

The Algorithm of Loneliness is why.