Monday, February 20, 2012

The Culture Blogs: The Microwave Nation

On a normal morning I wake up and immediately get on my computer to check Facebook.  Mind you that is likely what I did shortly before going to bed.  This is a symptom of a much larger issue in first world countries known as instant gratification.  Ultimately it affects us in everything we do, from playing on our phones with Twitter, to how we prepare our food, to how our doctors prescribe medicine.  In both life and literature this can play in our favor or against us, but more importantly than anything else we simply need to be aware that it is the present state of affairs for our society.

Look at the various entertainment industries.  Once they marketed a product to an industry.  Camera companies sold not only cameras, but film.  The music industry focused on record and later cd sales.  And even now in the beautiful world of publishing they once focused on books.  But none of them were thinking in terms of living in a microwave nation.   Our society now demands that we have the greatest and the best as soon as possible.  We will rant and rave when our computer takes two minutes to start up, or grumble when our cell phone doesn't have service, and perhaps worst of all when we are driving we are so focused on getting where we have to go that we don't move out of the way of emergency vehicles, because we have to get where we are going now!  So it came as a natural consequence that we as consumers would want easier and faster cameras, instantaneous music, and books on demand.  Honestly if we had just thought about the trends of technology we should have been able to see this coming years ago.

But we didn't, though as smart consumers and wise writers it is our responsibility to prepare for the future and that future is patience.  You're wondering why in the world I would bring up patience in a blog about instant gratification, right?  It has to do with how we interact with the world.  Instant gratification isn't a bad thing, it is the fact that we are growing so dependent upon it that makes it dangerous.  For instance instead of taking the time to teach our children discipline when they have too much energy, instead our doctors are giving them drugs to regulate their behavior.  Oftentimes this is done after only a few months of a certain behavior.  The same thing happens to adults when doctors prescribe for us depression medication.  We take it because we want to be fixed right now, when oftentimes if we learned better how to have patience again it would help us out more in the long run.  Like Veruca Salt from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory we are losing the virtue of patience.  Admitted she never had any.



Don't misunderstand my meaning here.  On Facebook I saw a poster that stated: "Depression, anxiety, and panic attacks are not signs of weakness.  They are actually signs of having tried to remain strong for too long."  And why are we needing to remain strong?  Because everything in the world around us demands that we have to do things right NOW.  Constantly, incessantly, and without mercy our world requires us to act NOW.  Which means we have to think about how we are going to handle ourselves in this new and dynamic world.  We can see how not thinking about how to deal with the new world has affected these huge businesses that never thought things would change.  We have to think about how we are going to deal with the change in our world also.  What things are you going to do to make certain you make time for relaxation, rather than entertainment?  When will get away from the rush of things and pursue the beauties of the world around you?  How will you learn to control your emotions when you don't get everything you want right NOW?  Before I got caught up in the rush of life, I took walks and they enabled me to be able to deal with everything in a much more patient and capable way. I don't do walks anymore and I miss out on so much of what life has to offer, because I know I am caught up in the rush of everything.

As writers it is very important for us to understand how this affects our characters inside a book.  Think about what kinds of illnesses or disorders characters will get when they try to keep up this pace all the time.  And our character who are able to cope, how do they do it on a regular basis?  What keeps them stable?  And in terms of economy, what does having a nation like this do?  Currently our entire economic system is changing, because of the microwave nation we live in.  The food industry, the computer industry, and oil industry all understand how this functions.  What groups in your world understand it and don't?  Perhaps you have an alternate history where instead of entertainment groups getting caught up in the instant changes it is your food industry?  What kinds of effects would that have on the world?

As both readers and writers we have a responsibility to think.  To understand the world around us and prepare it to give to the next generation.  Mind you they are growing up faster too, cause our children want instant sex.  Between parents not teaching them about sex, a throughly sexualized culture, and easy access to others who want it, sex has become as instantaneous as our food.  There are ramnifications of the microwave nation to discover all over the place.  What are some of the ideas that come to your mind?  And what are some of the solutions you can dream up?  Any fool can make things faster, but it takes patience and courage to make the world a place where we can have serenity.

As a reminder I wanted to mention that to share my gratitude with my readers for commenting on my blog, I am offering three lucky people a copy of a book I am currently reading: "The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms" by N.K. Jemisin.  It is a great book that I'm really enjoying.  Think of it as my way of saying thank you for conversing with me.

My name is Jayrod Garrett and I'm the First OG.  Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going on a walk.

14 comments:

  1. Nice post, Jayrod. A lot to think about -- a topic that must be kind of bouncing around in the collective conscious today, because yours is the third post I've read today that has similar underlying themes.

    Interesting in terms of the fantasy genre, too. In my current series, I have a world that DOESN'T have these issues, compared with our current one, and there's a lot there to explore, even if it's not really a main topic in my story.

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    1. That's one of the reasons I chose to post about it, Breeana. There are so many ways that you can think about this even in a traditional fantasy setting that it would blow your mind. Magic systems should always be considering this because magic often does this same thing for a society.

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    2. True. I wonder if it's an inherent human tendency to speed things up and look for instant gratification? It's interesting to think about.

      Underlying it is possibly a powerful/powerless situation as well. Instant gratification is a way to feel more powerful, in the same way older systems used slavery/servants/peasants/whatever. Technology is kind of an equalizer in that respect in our current society...

      I don't know... just musing. :)

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  2. Thanks for this wonderful educative blog. I am much impressed reading.

    Food technology Jobs

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    1. Thank you for you kind words, Jaylen. Thank you for the link, I'll review it and share it during a mashup later on this week.

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  3. I often thought I was one of the most impatient people I knew. When I was in my thirties I felt the universe was teaching me lessons in patience because it seemed I always had to wait for something. I still have trouble with wanting instant gratification but I try to stay in the moment as much as possible and tell myself I have everything I need right now. Reading this has reminded me to stay in the moment. Thank You!

    Peace,
    Morgan

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    1. Thank you so much for your input, Morgan, it means a lot to me. You hardly come across as impatient to me, but in the written word sometimes our vices are harder to recognize. I'm glad I wrote something that helped you.

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  4. Very interesting post; I particularly liked the way you linked the film clip and the pictures but the only complaint I have is that I found the type/font a little small and slightly hard to read. Or is it just me getting old?

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    1. I don't think it is you getting old. I think that it is a very good point. I enlarged my font at your suggestion, because it was spot on. Thanks for your input.

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  5. Great post. You mentioned walks.. I really miss taking walks at lunch. I get so caught up on doing things I forget to take time for me. No writing, no reading, no researching.. just spending quiet time alone in nature.

    Thanks for helping me out!

    Darlene

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    1. No problem Darlene! That's really the hope here to share thoughts and ideas that sincerely help folks out whether it be in writing or in life. Thanks for the kind words!

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  6. Hey - great informative and interesting post. And the 'look' of the blog (moving away from the small blue on black, font) is much more accessible too. X

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  7. Just try not to get lost in the suffering.

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