Comedian Louis CK was on Late Night with Conan O'Brien explaining how amazing everything is, and yet nobody is happy. You'd think with all this technology and instant gratification, we would at least realize how lucky we are.
That was fantastic! This only makes sense if you're older and can appreciate what he's talking about. If you wanted to make a private phone call at our house you had to drag the one, corded phone into my parents room and then the sneaky little sister (me) would listen in.
It's not capitalism that's the problem, it's consumerism. Even when people do shell out the big bucks for top of the line technology or software, it always turns out to be untested, buggy, and much slower than advertised. Furthermore, it's usually cheap junk that breaks easily, because the manufacturers know that in a few years, consumers will want the newer, flashier model.
The other problem is, simply, that life is stressful. People screaming about their slowed internet connection or being cut off by their cell phone may really be angry and frustrated by other things they cannot change or challenge, such as a fight with their spouse or boss, or having spent the morning in traffic. It's the same reason rude customers lash out with displaced wrath against retail employees: because they can't fight back.
I'm still amazed every time I fly. And I don't sweat the delays. I just tell whoever comes to pick me up that since the plane is scheduled for 10AM, just come to the airport at 2PM. Every airplane trip I've taken in the last 20 years has arrived four hours late. If you expect it, it's not a tragedy.
I think it has less to do with even consumerism than entitlement. That's the #1 character flaw with young-ish people these days - thinking the world owes them something.
This was funny, but even he was unhappy with the technology he had- he said he was irritated with the rotary phone. What about the people who had no phones? Everyone is unhappy. But Jesus loves us.
This is really funny, and we should be more content with what we have. It really made me stop and think.
But, the more I thought about it the more I realized that if we all were content with what we have, innovation and creation would stop. It is simply part of the human condition, and I believe a necessary one.
For example, if everyone was content with the rotary phone, and just accepted that wires limited the use, then cell phones would have never come about. Same with transportation - if no one wanted a better way to get around, we'd still be riding horses.
When we got our first cordless phone, my dad would come up behind whoever was using the phone, push them, and say, "Go on, walk around! That's what it's for!"
And my parents, in their little town, still have pulse dialing. Push button phones, but pulse dialing.
Noelegy:- I bet you'll find that the switch on the back of the phone is set to LD instead of DTMF. All exchanges in the UK still accept LD, though no one uses it much - only smart arses like me who can still tap-dial. I doubt the US is any different (that's if you're in the US - most of Neatorama's readers seem to be).
carye1... I don't necessarily disagree with what you are saying. We should never get so complacent that we stagnate progress in any area of science or technology.
However, I have to wonder why gadgets and convenience are the things we use to measure happiness. I'm pretty well connected. I'm married to an IT guy, so we have gadgets galore because that's his "thing". However, I could care less about those things. I don't let being overly connected stress me out. I can switch things off when I don't want to be easily accessible. Likewise, I can turn them on if I want to be. The things that define my happiness have nothing to do with the fact that I can talk to my sister on a web cam from five thousand miles away so much as the fact that I am close to my sister and the rest of my family. I have the best husband a woman could ask for, two awesome dogs, good friends, a positive outlook, and I do what I want when I want. I'm not rich, I'm not poor, but when it comes right down to it, I keep the stresses of living to a minimum by shrugging most of them off and moving on to more important things.
The other problem is, simply, that life is stressful. People screaming about their slowed internet connection or being cut off by their cell phone may really be angry and frustrated by other things they cannot change or challenge, such as a fight with their spouse or boss, or having spent the morning in traffic. It's the same reason rude customers lash out with displaced wrath against retail employees: because they can't fight back.
But, the more I thought about it the more I realized that if we all were content with what we have, innovation and creation would stop. It is simply part of the human condition, and I believe a necessary one.
For example, if everyone was content with the rotary phone, and just accepted that wires limited the use, then cell phones would have never come about. Same with transportation - if no one wanted a better way to get around, we'd still be riding horses.
And my parents, in their little town, still have pulse dialing. Push button phones, but pulse dialing.
However, I have to wonder why gadgets and convenience are the things we use to measure happiness. I'm pretty well connected. I'm married to an IT guy, so we have gadgets galore because that's his "thing". However, I could care less about those things. I don't let being overly connected stress me out. I can switch things off when I don't want to be easily accessible. Likewise, I can turn them on if I want to be. The things that define my happiness have nothing to do with the fact that I can talk to my sister on a web cam from five thousand miles away so much as the fact that I am close to my sister and the rest of my family. I have the best husband a woman could ask for, two awesome dogs, good friends, a positive outlook, and I do what I want when I want. I'm not rich, I'm not poor, but when it comes right down to it, I keep the stresses of living to a minimum by shrugging most of them off and moving on to more important things.