In Search of Instant Gratification
Nearly every store, food stop, and venue has wifi available to the public. There’s a constant ability to be linked in no matter where you go. In this day and age we have a connection to practically everything at the mere touch of our fingertips. Access to countless outlets and entertaining blurbs compete for our attention like moths to a flame.
Attention can be a challenging thing for one to continually commit full focus too. Keeping attention for an extended period of time is difficult for even the most disciplined person. The crazy thing that I witnessed in my own self was that I can’t even keep my attention on one thing for more than it takes to skim the length of an article.
For one full week I tried my best to keep a log of how my attention, or lack thereof, was affected while I was using the internet. I would like to characterize myself as a disciplined & focused user of the World Wide Web, but alas, I am a mere bait-clicking, multi-tab open Internet slave.
As the week progressed I noticed how every morning when my alarm went off, instead of getting up and beginning my day, I laid in bed scrolling between recent messages and various social media feeds. From the moment I wake up I couldn’t even focus my attention on solely responding back to my friends messages, I interjected the lulls in our conversation with scrolling through Twitter.
Two of my best friends go to school on the East Coast, but thanks to the lovely invention of the late Mr. Jobs, the IPad allows for instantaneous connection to them. Over the weekend when we Facetimed, I noticed that while we spent the majority of time speaking and looking at each other, on quite a few occasions both of our screens would be paused while we scrolled through Buzzfeed articles and Pinterest.
It was difficult for me to pinpoint over the course of a week a time when I used the Internet for one specific task and attentively stayed true to said task solely. I began to notice, however, that my embarrassing short attention expanded beyond the screen of my IPhone and IPad. While driving in my car, I change the station so many times because I detest the commercials. This is the same logic I apply to when I watch television. For my favorite shows, I forgo watching them when they air and opt instead to DVR them so I can fast-forward through the commercials.
The conclusion I can draw from this week of logging my attention is that I am a true seeker of instant gratification. I am easily swayed from my task by the sheer suggestion of something more interesting. I’ve come to realize that life cannot be lived fast-forwarding through dull moments and existing only to be constantly entertained. It is in those lulls that you get to catch your breath, step back, and truly appreciate the beauty of the everyday.
