We live in an age where information is just a moment away. Google has become a verb. Wikipedia is more popular than Britannica and what was it called…oh yeah Encarta.
In 3.5 years of college I went to and checked a book from the university library once. And that was a few days before my final paper of college was due. The class? Italian Fairy Tales. The only reason I needed to get the book is because the Google Book Search scan stopped a few pages short of the section I needed and there wasn’t much information on the subject online.
Adults have feared children will loose valuable skills, such as being able to spell due to spell check, to calculate due to calculators and Excel spreadsheets, to do research and decifer key points when it is all laid out for them when searching.
Shopping has become easier. Find it, buy it, and even then go pick it up at a local store. (As little as 1 hour for photo prints!)
Reading books is even becoming an instantaneous thing. I’m thinking of reading some Jane Austen, delivered in my RSS reader directly from Daily Lit.
Why spend time trying to decide what to have for lunch when the Wheel of Lunch can decide for you?
And today I had someone come into my companies Log Me In Remote Help. This is how the session went:
[12:49 PM] Connecting…
[12:49 PM] Jade says: Hello how can I help you today?
[12:49 PM] Andrew says: Hi.
[12:50 PM] Andrew says: I have a question with regards to customer credits.
[12:50 PM] Andrew says: let me bring up the customer accoutna dn paste the info here, once second please.
[12:50 PM] Jade says: Certainly
[12:51 PM] Andrew says: Nevermind actually, i just figured it out myself, but thanks !
[12:51 PM] Andrew says: That’s all for today 
[12:51 PM] Jade says: Oh good. Well hope you have a lovely day then!
[12:52 PM] Andrew says: thanks and bye for now
[12:52 PM] The customer ended the session.
When help is just a click away why think for yourself?
Not that I’m complaining that he figured it out himself. I was at my desk eating lunch (another instance affair) and was the only one on help so was glad to be rid of him so I could finish inhaling lunch. But is all this Instant Gratification leading us to be reliant on others?
The list could go on and on. But then that would take the
thinking out of coming up with your own examples.
The Information Explosion has turned into Gratification Explosion then.
I share the same sentiments with spell check and calculators but what really irritates me is d way ppl spll nwdays. its lyk deyr nt even tot elmntry englsh. deyr sch fckin eye sors dat ull strt wrshppng evry vowel u c.
Even if I live in a country (The Philippines) that’s SMS-oriented, I always make it a point to write properly. I believe it shows character.
Instant opinions just a click away…
By: Alouette on April 16, 2008
at 11:23 pm