INSTANT GRATIFICATION AND ITS EFFECT ON THE WORLD
I find myself constantly being amazed by the speed at which technology continues to progress. In my lifetime we went from computers and the internet just being born, to now in 2018, the self driving car is an actual possible. It seems like no matter where I go there are screens everywhere, cell phones, tvs, billboards, laptops; the world is constantly at our fingertips. Overall I think this is a fantastic thing, but, there is one major downside that is affecting my generation, the millennials and the generations after me.
Instant gratification. The ability to want something and be able to get it right away. You have a question, just ask Alexa, need a dinner idea just go to Pinterest, can’t remember the lyrics to your new favorite song, just google it. I have done each of those things more times than I can count. But how do all the little things add up to something that ends up working against us?
I would love to say that I never experience this but that would be a lie, the downfall of instant access is a lack of patience. I find that it creeps into my everyday life, slowly, making itself present at the worst possible times.
I remember conversations with my parents, aunts and uncles, on hard work, determination and you guessed it patience. It’s easy to agree that all those things are necessary foundational blocks of being a decent human; but when it comes to putting those ideas into practice is a whole nother story. How do we correct a behavior that has been part of us our whole lives?
It’s easy to point out these flaws in others, to chide and say just be patient it’s not the end of the world if you don’t get it right now; but when the situation is turned onto us, how easily do we take our own advice?
I don’t have the answer on how to fix this, how to make my generation take a step back and realize how lucky we are. We need to see that the effect of instant gratification is making us, lazy, less motivated, and when the going gets tough, we give up. What kind of future can we build if that’s our go to reactions when we don’t get what we want or need right away. This whole idea is generalized, I know what I say only pertains to some not all. But there is no denying that this is something prevalent in our day to day lives. All of this is just food for thought. Thoughts I had that I wanted to share with all of you. I would love to hear your thoughts, comment below!
It certainly is a dilemma. The benefits of technology are overwhelming and it would be hard to make a reasonable argument for rolling anything back. But how do we ensure that our children, our society, and our institutions are still able take the long view on things and work towards BIG hairy goals without easily being derailed.
I know, it's one thing to see and understand that it's a problem but another to say, here is how to fix it. It's like trying to find a healthy balance between embracing how far we have come as a society and remembering to look back on where we came from.