I WANT IT NOW!

 

If patience is a virtue, then we, as a society, are doomed.

I grew up in a household where hard work, perseverance and dedication earned the extra goodies I wanted. If I wanted something extra or out of the ordinary for myself, I had to save my money, then wait to go shopping for it. 

Similarly, when I needed to do research for school assignments, I was at the mercy of our small-town public library and their brief hours. Oh, and I needed to ride my bike there and back. I couldn’t order a book from Amazon and download it instantly or have in 2 hours, and we didn’t have Google as an instant information source. I had to wait for things.

I remember watching Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory when I was really young - somewhere around 4, 5, or 6 and as much as Gene Wilder mesmerized me, Veruca Salt’s impatience, greed and incessant demands for everything she saw horrified me, even then. I also remember being secretly pleased when she was deemed a “bad egg” by one of Wonka’s machines and she was whooshed away with the garbage.

In contrast to my upbringing in the 70s, kids today have the world at their fingertips, courtesy of the smartphone, up to and including the Encyclopedia Brittanica. No more bicycle rides to flip through the voluminous pages and pages of knowledge at the local library, it's literally in your pocket. And really, it’s not just the kids. We all have the world at our fingertips, from the convenience of wherever we are at any given moment we can order a case of printer paper or a case of beer and have it on our doorstep by the time we get home from work.

Besides forever altering the lives of kids and students by becoming the ultimate educational resource, the smartphone created a shift in consumers’ expectations. Especially from brands. Think about it, literally every last thing that can have a QR code printed on it or a chip attached to it can be a channel for communication. The ubiquity of these channels, and what they can deliver (information, services, additional content…) has created what could easily be called the Veruca Salt Doctrine of the Modern Consumer: “I want it, and I want it now” (Edelman, 2012).

Our experiences – and subsequent expectations - have turned us into impatient tyrants. We yell at our phones when the screens freeze. We melt down when web pages don’t load fast enough or streaming content won't stream. Our heart rates increase, and our hands shake when we have to call a business and – gasp – be put on hold to wait for a representative (Interactive Schools, 2018). Patience. We don't have it. These technologies that makes our lives infinitely easier in so many ways, are also a major cause of stress in our lives. 

Additionally, social media is addictive. It provides a dopamine rush that many have become obsessed with (Interactive Schools, 2018). As stated by Simon Sinek in the below video, we like when our posts are “liked”, it makes us feel good, and it’s that feel good dose of dopamine that keeps us checking our Facebook notifications constantly. Even when we’re with real life friends we still need to see if our  "pocket friends” still like us (Sinek, 2016).

It's become impossible for us to navigate life without technology. 

And really, be honest...how often do you check your phone? 

That's what I thought.

Doomed, I tell you. Doomed.

References

Britannica. (n.d.). Today in Context. Retrieved from Britannica: https://www.britannica.com/

Edelman, D. (2012, Nov 26). Smart Phones Are Turning Everyone Into Veruca Salt. Retrieved from Business Insider: https://www.businessinsider.com/the-veruca-salt-doctrine-2012-11

Interactive Schools. (2018, Feb 15). DOPAMINE: HOW DOES THIS "DIGITAL HEROIN” IMPACT OUR TECH LIVES? Retrieved from Interacitve Schools: https://blog.interactiveschools.com/blog/dopamine-how-does-this-digital-heroine-impact-our-tech-lives

Sinek, S. (2016, Oct 29). Simon Sinek on Millennials in the Workplace. YouTube.