Convenience is a Virtue?
It’s all about instant gratification. The past couple mornings watching the Today Show I've seen features about people trying to live without their modern conveniences, including Forbes managing Editor, Dennis Kneale and a family with four kids.
It is both funny and sad to see how much they, and we, rely so heavily on instant access to news, communication, food; you name and it we want it: NOW! The whole “patience is a virtue” saying is so 1950’s.
Actually, it’s pretty scary to think about what would happen if we had to live without our cell phones, ipods, computers and TV’s. We would have to go back to writing with pencils, reading hardcopy, waiting on snail mail and paying the phone companies for long distance…Who wants to live like that?
People are afraid to be alone, cut-off from the world of email, and shudder, life without a soundtrack provided by a tiny MP3 player. Think: cooking from scratch all the time.
At least I know that if I ever want to see a grown man cry, all I have to do is take away his BlackBerry and access to internet. I can’t help but wonder if all this instant gratification found through technology is making us stronger, or just lazy? What do you think?
Comments
Having access to the Internet has made us more productive, whether it's for researching information, disseminating information or just letting us connect to others (e-mail, IM, etc.).
Having more places to access the Internet (I'm in an Orlando hotel room accessing the broadband) means additional productivity, and it's also changed the way we work. After flying for 3 hours I'm now "catching up" on e-mail and blog reading when I should just be relaxing in the hotel room and getting ready for my next work day. But at least I'm multi-tasking -- I'm eating room service and watching Everybody Loves Raymond at the same time (hee).
On the other hand, technology like the iPod means I'm a lot less social when I travel -- I pop on the iPod, listen to my tunes or podcasts, and don't talk to others. On the JetBlue flight from Boston to Orlando today, the 36 channels of DirecTV meant I could zone out for 3 hours, and I ended up just watching the Anna Nicole Smith trial on TV. I guess added technology doesn't make me more productive after all.
I'm pro technology (I do cover this industry), but agree that going overboard is probably not a great thing either (no CrackBerry addicts here).
Posted by: Keith Shaw | February 21, 2007 10:16 PM