The Desire for Instant Gratification Is Wreaking Havoc on Society
Has society become too weak willed? If you listen to the naysayers then everything is doom and gloom. Nothing is as good as in their day and everyone is too soft. They look at technological developments like Damon braces, products designed to make life easier, and they decide that there is no trouble in life anymore. Moulded by rationing and war they have a real appreciation for all the basics of life but is there any truth in their grim warnings?
Looking at recent sociological and anthropological studies, it's certainly possible. In recent years, there has a steady development of what's known as the instant gratification culture. The idea is we're adapting to the ever improving speed of the internet and technological advances and trying to impose the same standards on everyday life. We want everything now, now, now, and if we have to wait we often won't bother. On average, a person will wait just 5 seconds for a webpage to load before clicking the tab. That's a tremendously short amount of time when you actually think about it, imagine walking away from a coffee shop if your drink isn't ready in that time, or giving up on your train because it's not available immediately. A clear sign of this culture is in the massive increase in 24/7 supermarkets. Companies are being forced to open at all hours because people want what they want, when they want it. They don't want to wait until morning, they don't want to leave the restaurant 10 minutes early so that they can pick up a pint of milk on the way home. The expect the shop to be open whenever they deem to turn up.
Facebook, emails and Twitter apparently have a lot to answer for. They have not only encouraged this sort of behaviour but actively enforced it. The small burst of serotonin we receive when we get that notification, that retweet or that email is addictive. Like heroin addicts after one more hit, just one more, we are desperately reliant on getting a surge of excitement and after a while we need it to feel normal. Ask anyone how long they spend checking social networks in a day and you'll almost always get an embarrassed mutter and a downward glance. There is definitely an issue here, one that is entirely separate from the usual €better in my day€ rambling. The problem isn't with things like damon braces or internet banking, things that make life easier using the gifts science has given, it's when superfluous gadgets are allowed to become the centre of life. When that happens, life loses its gravitas and becomes somehow dull: meaningless time to be filled. In reality the gift of life itself is precious and if we take anything from the rants and rambles of the war children it's that every day is precious.
Looking at recent sociological and anthropological studies, it's certainly possible. In recent years, there has a steady development of what's known as the instant gratification culture. The idea is we're adapting to the ever improving speed of the internet and technological advances and trying to impose the same standards on everyday life. We want everything now, now, now, and if we have to wait we often won't bother. On average, a person will wait just 5 seconds for a webpage to load before clicking the tab. That's a tremendously short amount of time when you actually think about it, imagine walking away from a coffee shop if your drink isn't ready in that time, or giving up on your train because it's not available immediately. A clear sign of this culture is in the massive increase in 24/7 supermarkets. Companies are being forced to open at all hours because people want what they want, when they want it. They don't want to wait until morning, they don't want to leave the restaurant 10 minutes early so that they can pick up a pint of milk on the way home. The expect the shop to be open whenever they deem to turn up.
Facebook, emails and Twitter apparently have a lot to answer for. They have not only encouraged this sort of behaviour but actively enforced it. The small burst of serotonin we receive when we get that notification, that retweet or that email is addictive. Like heroin addicts after one more hit, just one more, we are desperately reliant on getting a surge of excitement and after a while we need it to feel normal. Ask anyone how long they spend checking social networks in a day and you'll almost always get an embarrassed mutter and a downward glance. There is definitely an issue here, one that is entirely separate from the usual €better in my day€ rambling. The problem isn't with things like damon braces or internet banking, things that make life easier using the gifts science has given, it's when superfluous gadgets are allowed to become the centre of life. When that happens, life loses its gravitas and becomes somehow dull: meaningless time to be filled. In reality the gift of life itself is precious and if we take anything from the rants and rambles of the war children it's that every day is precious.
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