The Google Effect

It's no big mystery that we live in a society predicated on instant gratification.

Some call it the "Google Effect" -- you get an idea, you need an answer and bam! you get one.  Couldn't be any easier, right?  So easy, in fact, that you could almost hear contestants' phone-a-friends on the game show Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? punching away at the keys, in the hopes of finding the answer in less than the allotted 30 seconds.  Now, imagine what would happen if Google failed them?

Everything has a sense of urgency.  When we need something right now, we really needed it yesterday.  It's not only when money is involved that we become irritated and aggravated at these failed attempts to get what we want and need.  It's within our relationships and careers that we may also lose control.  Add all this to an already unhappy person, and don't be surprised if it feels like World War III is about to commence.

Today's world has advanced so much that we rely on it, rather than ourselves, to be happy.  The problem is that these advances are not in direct relation to our expectations.  Our expectations far exceed these advances, and we expect -- and even demand -- more than we are capable of obtaining.  Our expectations can then seem totally unrealistic, in terms of turnaround time and what it is we even want. Leading to an even more unhappy person.

This life has become all about what makes us happy now.  We don't consider the future or how our decisions now will affect us later.  We are selfish, impatient and flat-out rude when we don't get what we want.  We see someone else with something and we have to have it too.  And there is no such thing as will-power and not giving into temptation anymore.

So what does this have to do with technology, you ask?  Just look around. Everywhere I turn, I see people with smart phones permanently fixated to their hands.  We, as a collective society, just can't not be connected.  Funny thing is, no one is using their phone to make actual calls.  E-mails and text messages and Facebook comments -- that is how we are staying connected to our friends and family these days.  And boy, can we multi-task!  What happened to the personal touch?  What happened to real-live, human interaction?

I often wonder, were we not so technologically advanced, would we expect so much out of other aspects of our lives not related to business, education, and medicine?  You know, the things that should really matter, like family, friends and religion?  Would life be good enough for us without technology?

Sorry, but Google does not have the answer to that one.  You'll have to come up with it on your own.