Like it or not, we have become a hyper-instant gratification society. Many of the modern-day advances that we love have made life easier, but also make life shallower in ways we often don’t always notice. Being able to critically think and problem solve were required skills up until recently, but today artificial intelligence is there to answer questions ranging from how to solve math problems, to offering the best ways to plot your backyard garden. Is faster always better in life? Are we more advanced, happier humans having to think and problem solve less? Should the ultimate goal of all of this be to one day become so dependent on technology that we never need to leave our couches, throw together a meal, or even have to find the remote control? Instant gratification in certain life situations can be great (here comes the Amazon truck with your package just minutes after ordering!), but as we move closer to experiencing instant gratification with more life interactions, it might be time to take a much closer look at the dangers to our mental health and development when we never having to wait or work for things.
Unpacking the sudden instant gratification all around us
We are currently swimming in instant gratification all around us, and many times we don’t even notice as a lot of the change has now been normalized. For example, college degrees used to take years to complete, and required students to regularly attend class, actually write their term papers, meet with professors for mentoring, and sometimes have to complete a challenging thesis or related research project in order to graduate. Today, there are ways around all of that, especially if you choose from the growing number of online colleges that don’t require attendance, can get you through the degree in a fraction of the time it used to take, and actually allow you to use AI to “assist” with your papers (oh, and unsupervised tests, too). Students graduate faster, but what are they learning? The instant gratification experienced is tapping your credit card in exchange for a degree — students are thrilled to be done so quickly, and universities are happy to collect student enrollment fees for online courses that students learn on their own. Proponents of this modern way of pursuing a college degree praise the convenience and downplay what is lost, but critics worry that eventually the instant gratification will result in an unprepared, unable workforce lost without AI and other tech shortcuts.
While we want immediate results, answers, improvement, and rewards in life, the reality is that life usually doesn’t work that way. Career, academic, relationship, and even sport success all require time, resilience, and delayed gratification. We develop into our best selves by appreciating the time and effort that goes into our success, by galvanizing our resiliency against stress and adversity, and working toward long-term goals that help with our human focus and motivation. When things are just given to us after clicking a button, none of these things are experienced, and mental health suffers as voids in our psyche begin to develop as a result. When we can no longer bear being patient, we experience more frustration, we quit things early, we become bored, and we lose the ability to tolerate discomfort.
When everything in life comes instantly, the process feels unnecessary, and we overlook and/or dismiss the fun of sport participation, the moments of our best creativity, and the “aha” moments when we personally solve challenging problems. Instant gratification means fewer opportunities for the brain to actively think, resulting in fragile reasoning, poor decision-making, shallow understanding of topics, and a blind trust in whatever simply sounds right.
Examples of instant gratification we barely notice any more…
Below are examples of modern conveniences that would be viewed as instant gratification when compared to just a few years ago:
- Same-day delivery. Point, click, wait a little while and soon enough your purchase is on your front porch!
- Streaming platforms. Watch your favorite movies and sports anytime, and from any device you own — no need to go to the theater any more.
- Smartphones. They do everything for us these days, creating a dependency many people don’t even notice.
- Artificial intelligence. We turn to AI more with each day that passes, and that means less time problem-solving on our own.
- Social media. Got a few minutes to kill? Check out any one of the many social media pages you likely have today.
- On-demand entertainment. Video gamers know they can jump online anytime and get a game with someone waiting to play.
- GPS. No more stopping at gas stations to talk to the attendant about finding your way as smart phones have made traveling a lot easier.
- Mobile banking. Why wait in line at the bank when money transactions between phones is the easy way to go.
- Mobile food delivery. Pull up your favorite restaurant, click, and soon enough the meal will be at your front door.
- On-demand ride services. Why find parking when a driver will come to your house any time of the day, load your luggage, and get you to where you need to go.
At first glance, it’s easy to see the benefits of the services above, and in some cases we couldn’t even imagine not having the convenience. When we look at the list as a whole, however, it does offer a different, comprehensive perspective that clearly shows we are doing less, and relying on instant gratification more. In fact, when looking at the future, experts suggest that self-driving cars (kind of already here), self-diagnosis for medical concerns, drone deliveries for everything, and virtual companions (i.e. friends, therapists, coaches) will soon be the norm. Yes, even more instant gratification. And more worries about our mental health and hardiness.
To be clear, modern advances are great, and instant gratification can be a wonderful thing. What’s not being examined close enough is the price we are paying, and will pay in the future, when we no longer have to do much other than know how to “like,” swipe, Venmo, and ask Siri. How much of our human development will change over time, and what aspects of the human condition will be left behind in a Darwinian manner? Instant gratification gives, but it also takes, leaving us challenged regarding the best ways to interface with today’s new technologies.
Final thoughts
Instant gratification can be a great thing, but when it is always around us at the expense of using our own critical thinking and decision making, it might be prudent to take pause and re-evaluate. While having a meal delivered to your front door may be harmless, what are the long-term costs we experience to our mental health and human potential when we no longer know how to do basic life tasks because we have so relied on AI? The assumption is that AI will always be there from this point moving forward, and that may well be the case, but if that means we devolve from the thinking creatures that we are into lethargic, unknowing blobs, is that a net win?
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