Sunday, January 25, 2009

What's With the Haste?!

Young people nowadays love everything to be fast. The culprit I’m eyeing is the oh-so-mighty technology. If there’s one thing that made people more impatient, it’s nothing but technology.

Here’s the thing: people always have escalating expectations. “Give him an inch and he’ll take a mile”, so they say. In the cellular phone arena, when we’ve got texting going on, we asked for mp3. When it was done, we asked for a camera. When it was done, we asked for Internet. When it was done, we asked for touch screen. And today, we ask for all of them in one handy material. (Plus, we want it cheap.) See? We always have a way of outgrowing things easily. One of these things is waiting.

I’ve noticed that online shops are sprouting out of nowhere because a lot of people (yes, I’m guilty of this too) don’t like lining up at the counters or dressing rooms. In fact, in a recent market study, the “waiting for purchase” time is one of the biggest factors for determining store choices among consumers.

Also, a lot of business transactions, aside from those connected with shopping, are also done via the Internet. Because it’s faster. From kitchenware, to real estate, to gift items, everything can be bought online. I know at least 90% of the students in our school who would give up a pair of shoes just for online enrolment to be approved. Bah.

Another thing I feel sorry for is the growing apprehension among teenagers to read something that’s more than 500 words. I remember our literature class when we were tasked to read a short story, which was around 3000 words, 6 pages. All of my classmates whined and even joked about it not being “short” at all. The teacher succumbed to their mumbling and we ended up studying an 800-word excerpt. Sad. These kids didn’t mind having to read multiple blog entries but they were willing to filter something Nick Joaquin wrote.

Lastly, I feel sorry, and I apologize for being impatient now. I’m trying my best to be patient but sometimes, the speed I am used to, when it’s not the speed that I’m running, I just snap. I dare not touch dial-up internet anymore. I find myself riding the cab more than usual because I don’t like waiting for a jeepney. I take the stairs to the 7th floor because I don’t like lining up outside the elevator. I eat lunch-in-a-box because it’s fast and saucy. (But mostly because it’s fast.) I know a lot of people who feel just like this, even worse.

The ultimate result with all these hurrying is that people are now expected to do more in a day. And because people are hurrying always, people have less time to connect with one another. I think that’s the biggest thing that we should feel sorry for. After all, when we become annoyed with something we regard as slow, we are clothed with bad mood and people will think twice about approaching us. Moreover, people are also more sensitive about “taking one’s time” because it seems like everyone’s in a hurry.

And because we’re always running fast, let me ask you a question: what fuels us? What are we running for? Or running away from? Enlighten me.

2 comments:

Aux Zero said...

We're all running from fear of having not enough time, thinking that there's so much to do.

We're running from the fact that in reality, we have to take it slow.

And what fuels us is the thought of always being ahead of things when in fact we're not.

Your New PR Girl said...

@aux zero: very profound :) and your comment reflects how filipino we are no? haha we are always running because we are always late! LOL