We all know what it's like to have our parents or grandparents tell us to stop texting and have a real conversation with them. There is a definite problem in the millennial generation with the need for instant gratification. What is instant gratification? In simple terms, it is known as not being able to wait for anything and always needing to see results instantly. We see this all over the place in things like fitness where there are always new diets, supplements, or workouts to "Get slim quick!"
There are several parts of life that this generation are missing out on, with the creation of several technologies. These technologies have definitely eased our lives and made certain things more convenient, but they have caused the millennial generation to lose touch with the ability to wait for results. Here are four of the biggest reasons that the Millennial generation crave instant gratification.
1. Texting
Texting is something that originally was created for quick messages that were not worth taking the time to call someone over. Now texting is used as a primary form of communication. With the ability to know what your friend is thinking at any time from any place without the "inconvenience" of actually talking to someone, who wouldn't want to hold complete conversations over texting? The use of texting has killed the ability to wait for the time to have a face-to-face conversation.
Now we are accessible to anyone at any time of the day. To the point that many people in the millennial generation get upset when the person they are texting don't respond right away. We would rather have our faces glued to our phones than we would have real life communication with someone that is sitting directly in front of us.
2. Netflix
Who needs to go to a movie theater or somewhere like Blockbuster or Family Video to watch their favorite movies anymore? Netflix has almost completely run video stores out of business because of its convenience. The downfall of Netflix is that if the movie we want to see isn't available on it yet we can't handle the wait for Netflix to acquire it.
Now there is no reason to wait a week for the next new episode of your favorite TV show. When you can watch the next episode in under thirty seconds of viewing the last one, without even hitting a button, why would you wait? This also causes many people to lose ability to move for days on end.
3. Email
While email is even beginning to be outdated, it is definitely one of the first reasons that the millennial generation began to crave instant gratification. When email came along, the thought of writing a letter to someone and waiting for days on end for the person's response was destroyed.
Even now with email beginning to die out, people still use their email to get instant notifications on sports, schooling, and several other functions. Businesses use email to instantly reach people and promote their products. Instead of creating billboards, television ads, or even just newspaper ads, businesses bombard us with emails to get their promotions and products to us.
4. Social Media
Social media can be a great way to keep up with your friends and family from a distance. It has also turned into a way that we can peek into every detail of your friends' lives. Now that people are so set on posting "selfies" and other pictures of minuscule activities each day, there's no reason to wait until you're with someone to find out about their life. It is all constantly updated for you.
With the growth of social media, there is no more waiting to find out what happened to someone. You don't need to genuinely reconnect with someone to find out how their life is. Instead you can "stalk" their profile and find out every detail you could ever want to know. Now we have arguments with our friends because they "sub-tweeted" us and instead of taking the time to fix the problem, we "sub-tweet" them in retaliation.
