Unnoticed Issue in Our Generation

 Have you ever been out in public with someone of a different generation, may it be your relative, friend, student, etc, and noticed a huge difference in the ability to stay patient? The older generation is able to handle things at a much slower pace, while the younger seem to be on edge and constant longing for the next stimuli. This is not just a matter of maturity or development, but instead a larger issue of our generations problem of instant gratification. It’s the most common trend that thrive in a culture we’ve grown up with, one that prioritizes convenience, technology, and access over anything else.

    The older generation spent a large portion of their lives without the internet or smartphones. As someone who was born into the speed of technology, it’s almost shocking to hear and imagine a life without my phone. A prevalent thought of mine was when my mother told me that when she was in college, she used to follow the pencil tip building in downtown Atlanta to find her way back to her house. No GPS to guide her through the chaotic interlock of roads that we call our main city. The idea of having to find my destination while reading a map or by solely driving blows my mind. Older generations’ expectations were all built in a slower-paced world: waiting weeks at a time for mail, phoning a friend and just having to hope they were home, and more. As a result, they have much more tolerance for having to sit through something we would consider arduous or torture.

    

    On the other hand, younger generations grew up in a society using so much technology that it’s basically engraved into our brains as an essential part of development. Even as children, younger generations aren’t playing outside as much or exploring necessary sensory input that is crucial to their brain growth. Instead, they’re given an ipad to be stop crying or if they’re bored.  Information, entertainment, communication are delivered to us with the tap of a finger ever since a young age, there were bound to be consequences to neglecting brain health. Boredom doesn’t exist because our minds are given endless distractions and dopamine hits (doomscrolling) to take up that “empty space” in our heads. The entitlement of impatience isn’t exactly on purpose, but because our baseline for how things should be paced has been this way our whole lives.

    Faster does not equal better. In fact, the amount of dopamine that our brain receives is unbelievably unhealthy and fries our capability to be still, calm, and grounded, leading to sky-high rates of anxiety, trouble with focusing, and dissatisfaction. The constant need for us to not be bored can feel overwhelming when not fulfilled. No one exactly notices it, but it’s education, functionality, work ethic, relationships, and whatever else a proper attention span requires. (Basically everything) A fried brain goes hand in hand in the low ability to perform well in life. Instead of processing our emotions such as stress or intense situations, a “better solution” would be to turn to harder substances in order to block out unpleasant feeling because that is what we are used to. Being capable of sitting with ourselves and healthily resolving problems has become a challenge.

    The issue of instant gratification is beginning to take a toll on our ability to be in relationships as well. A huge part of it is always putting our needs first—which isn’t necessarily new because what human isn’t egocentric, but that doesn’t dismiss the fact that we all think about our needs and ourselves before anyone else by nature. Because of technology consuming our brains to the point of frying it, the need to be fed makes a person think of themselves first becomes even stronger. The egocentricity created from this overtakes our ability to feel empathy and sabotages relationships that should be built on a sense of mutual care and effort. Not to mention that people are dating just to date, replacing the point of creating strong bonds with a pastime and reducing it to grain.

It's not just cultural gripe—It’s a problem deeper rooted than many want to acknowledge. The danger in the inability to delay gratification for important goals, emotional regulation, or focus is becoming scarily prominent and we won’t see the effects until later in life.