I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by video games, they
said, by movies and television and violence on the news and rap lyrics
they said, because they didn't have any other explanations and they
wouldn't admit to themselves that something this big, something this
much of a problem, could be their own fault and not the fault of the
media who swore by psychological tests and answered bak and didn't
listen and gave us bad role models, they said; celebrities who steered us
down the wrong winding roads with no map for guidance and no sign
posts to bring us back, no trail to follow home because god forbid we
make our own mistakes, no, it is the fault, they said, of the Internet and
the vastness of it and the dangers of talking to strangers even though
strangers are more welcoming than the people the people in real
life because they are faceless and invisible and leave behind-able and
parents are not and the pressure to please them is all too real and drives
us to do the things that they said were the fault of everyone else; video
games, movies, television, violence on the news, rap lyrics, celebrities
and the Internet and they forgot that once upon a time it was jazz, it was
rock music and books, they said driving kids to drugs and violence and
anti-social behaviour that got them kicked out of school and stuck in
endless loops of actions that got them nowhere and made society leave
them behind with their problems that were the fault of the media not
caused by any fault of their own and with no discernible psychological
causes other than too much media running through their electric veins.
Lorna Dicken holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Creative Writing, and a Creative Writing Master of Arts degree with a specialism in Writing for Children – both from the University of Winchester (Hampshire, UK).
During her time at university, Lorna had several pieces of work featured in the university’s highly acclaimed creative writing journal, ‘Vortex’, including two pieces of poetry. One of her short stories was also featured on the website of the university’s record label, ‘Splendid Fred’. During her MA, Lorna worked on, and had work published in, an anthology of student work which led to interest from a literary agent. Unfortunately, she has yet to finish the manuscript. Lorna writes almost exclusively for children, teenagers, and young adults in the sci-fi and fantasy genres.