Generation "NOW"

I feel as though the demand for things immediately has lately become a necessity for people. If we send out emails/texts, we want a response back pretty quickly. If we are at red lights, we wish they would turn green faster.

I find myself doing this all the time. Even though we have very fast internet (10mbps), I am still shaking my head screaming at the screen, "Go faster!". It was only a few years ago where the only way to connect to the internet was dial-up. I remember clicking on my Internet Explorer icon and then leaving the room for 20 minutes, coming back and it still not being connected. So, why am I complaining now of a 10 second delay?? All of this technology has made me impatient.

One of my hinderances is texting. They always tell you that texting and driving is dangerous, that you should just wait until you are out of the car. The other day while driving in my neighborhood, I saw a young person texting while bicycling...geez, sounds a bit reckless. The next day I saw a skateboarder texting! Does this sound crazy to you too? I feel I've become an old person that sits on my front porch with my dentures in a glass beside me while waving my cane and screaming, "crazy youth!"

So, as impatient as I am, I think kids 10 years younger are worse off. They all seem to be typing on phones faster than I can ever imagine. Some of their relationships are totally based on texts, no talking required (heaven forbid we talk to someone face to face). Rumors are no longer spread from mouth to mouth over the week, but by a mass text message in a few seconds. No wonder school is getting harder for these kids.

We have grown used to phones so much that they are always with us: on our hip, in a purse, or even sitting on table right beside us. Have you ever walked in to a restaurant and seen tables of people all on their cell phones, not even communicating to one another? Sort of makes me sad. Yes, I admit Greg and I do this sometime. It is pretty fun to play Angry Birds or Solitaire, especially when you can entertain little 3 year olds (who shall not be named) to behave at restaurants. We do try to not make it a habit though. Everytime one of our phone chimes we both look up wondering if the text/email/phone call requires immediate attention. It usually doesn't, but I'm one of those people that feels special when I get a random "hi" text from someone. I feel as though with so much typing and not enough talking, we are missing out on a key element of human speech. It's nice to see smiles instead of exclamation points, or real laughter instead of "lol's".

To wrap this up, this thinking has spurred me to put the phone down, and go outside and play for a bit. To talk to my husband face to face. To not have that urge to respond to emails within 3 seconds of receiving them. To leave my phone in the other room and not have the instinct to have it by my side all the time. To stop and smell the roses, because everything really is beautiful once you stop and slow down to look around.