Effortless Consumption

Don’t think, just click!

We live in an age of abundance. Our standard of living can’t be compared to past generations. We cover all of our needs and desires instantly without showing any effort. The only effort we show is at work to earn money.

Money buys about everything right now. You want hot water, easy. Turn on the faucet and out comes hot water. No need to boil it in a pot like past generations. Need to ‘socialize’ with your friend. A couple touches on your screen and boom, your message is sent. No need to sit down and write a long well-thought out letter. Just send an emoji and she’ll know how you’re feeling.

The list can go on and on. The easiness and more importantly, abundance of everything has led to a life full of waste and everything has lost its true meaning. Just because every time you turn on the faucet you see water coming out, doesn’t mean you can misuse it. I wonder how we would use water if we had to provide for the means to acquire it. Removing the act of effort to complete a given task has changed the way how we value it.

The more we have of something, the less thought we put into it when using it. Take pictures for example. We take countless photos of the same pose but only post one. We can do this because we don’t use a camera with a film anymore. In those days, we had to put careful thought before taking a picture because one could only take a certain number without having to buy a new film.

This abundance has led to a carelessness and a drop in quality in everything that we do. And, ‘ownership’ of any kind without effort has turned us into ungrateful people who takes everything for granted. This is where a great chunk of our dissatisfaction lies.

The human animal, like others, is adapted to a certain amount of struggle for life [and] the mere absence of effort from his life removes an essential ingredient of happiness. [. . .] He forgets that to be without some of the things you want is an indispensable part of happiness. -Bertrand Russell