Adults over the age of 50 will jump to say that the younger generations are lazy and have no work ethic. They pride themselves on their 100-hour workweeks with no breaks, their long walks to school and their written letters to loved ones. They tell us how much more interactive life was when the cell phone was put down at the dinner table, and "Facebooking” didn’t exist. They preach to us how the true essence of fun lies outdoors, and not in our rooms with our Netflix and video games. Times have obviously changed. Yet rather than hard workers, has this changed society produced a mass of average people?
Or are we just more efficient?
We are the generation that is contingent on instant gratifications. Now, what does that mean? Well, in short, “We want what we want, and we want it NOW.” While that is contrary to almost everything we’ve been taught-delayed gratification-we have an inherent desire to have what we want, and have it instantly.
But how can you blame us?
We do not remember a time without microwaves, iPhones, instant hot water, Facebook, Myspace, you name it - we got it. We live in a day and age where you do not have to leave your home for ANYTHING. If you want the newest, coolest restaurant's sandwich delivered to your front door, the app Post-mates has you covered (not to mention, they have competitors, so you've got options). Through your fingertips you have access to all the world's information - so why even use a book, right?
It does not matter where you are, or what time it is - if you need to get home (or anywhere for that matter), Uber has your back with the ride.
The iPhone has an app for almost everything your heart desires. I mean, you can even buy a new wardrobe, and meet your significant other, online, at the same time.
Now this culture, like all things, has two sides. People either reach a false realization that everything in life is instant and easy, or people become more efficient.
And when people are used to getting what they want AND they are more efficient, what happens...?
Innovation is a part of evolution, and that is what has contributed to our culture of instant gratification. Behind all these products and devices are people from this generation - and ideas. Ideas that were executed and are now coined. I would argue that the older generations are wrong. The instant gratification culture has indeed burned the appreciation for strenuous work, yet the amount of ideas and opportunities it has bred into society is evident. People may not have to work as hard in all aspects, for while they may still have to push themselves in some, they will be efficient in others.
This generation still has to work hard, just in different ways. Perhaps the instant gratification they have learned and adapted to has instigated a sense of perseverance. It is not necessarily that this generation will try, and when the gratification is not instant, they will give up. Rather, they will try and try again until they can make the gratification instant.
