Instantification of almost everything is making people unhappy. Hear me out. Since human beings came into existence, we have always tried to create techniques and gadgets to help us do things faster. While it’s an advantage in many cases, especially when it comes to daily, repetitive chores; the relentless push for instant results in every aspect of life is creating a significant problem.
Back when I was a content writer, I used to take up to a week to write an article. I would do research, bring the topic up in conversations to gather diverse opinions, talk to experts, keep notes, and after finally writing it, I would read it multiple times, add more thoughts, and then feel completely happy when I did a good job. Readers also felt more connected to my writing. And today, even while writing this article, I had to fight the urge to ask ChatGPT to write it for me. Because then I would have received a ready-made opinion, not something I arrived at on my own.
We’ve entered an era where waiting is seen as an inconvenience rather than a natural part of life. We don’t let anything simmer anymore - not food, not conversations, not relationships. Everything is on fast-forward, like we’re binge-watching life instead of actually living it.
Something I find really amusing though - whenever I have displayed my art anywhere and talked to people about it, the first question I get asked is, “How long did you take to create it?” And I wonder how different the reaction would be if my answer was “instantly” versus “days/weeks/months.” When it comes to art, there’s still hope I guess. People want art that shows the skill of the artist, the depth of effort, and the soul poured into it.
Technology has made instantification possible to a level far beyond imagination, especially with AI and machine learning. AI-generated text, photos, and videos learn from everything available to them and spit out multimedia content within seconds. But to what end? The recent Ghiblification by AI made it possible for anybody to create Studio Ghibli-style drawings of their personal photos with just a simple text prompt. It was instantaneous; completely bypassing the months and years it used to take to create something like this. The trend exploded, went viral. And then, as quickly as it appeared, it disappeared. People got bored of looking at it after a day. The amusement lasted just as long as it took AI to create the image. The effort that once went into creating such iconic art was reduced to a cheap trick.
Compare that to actually creating a painting - learning the techniques, mastering your skills, practicing, feeling frustrated, getting the joy of finding something you never knew about, and then experiencing that eureka moment. The masterpiece you create, even if it’s full of flaws, will give you joy for a lifetime. Every time you look at it, it will spark some neurons in your brain that will melt your heart.
Learning takes time. What’s the rush? Anyone who has lived before us can tell you how much fun and happiness there is in waiting for things, working hard, and finally achieving them.
Instant food never tastes as good as the original dish, either created from scratch at home or served at a restaurant. Instant ramen, instant coffee might have their own following, but they can never compare to the real thing. Because the real thing has taste that comes from the experience, patience, and hands of the person who cooked it. It has a soul full of life, as compared to machine-packed junk.
Even relationships have fallen victim to instantification. Swipe right, chat a little, meet up, lose interest, repeat. Compare that to the old-school way -- writing love letters, waiting for replies, feeling your heart race when you see that one person in a crowd. There was magic in the waiting, the slow buildup, the anticipation. Now, we expect fireworks instantly, and when they don’t happen, we move on to the next thing like it’s a Netflix recommendation.
This rush to churn out content faster is killing the quality and we find ourselves getting bored easily as nothing can hold our attention and interest.
So, what can we do?
We can slow down. We can stop obsessing over making everything faster. We can let some things take their natural course, allow ourselves the pleasure of anticipation, the thrill of effort, and the deep, lasting satisfaction of creating something meaningful rather than just consuming something instant. Remember, the more we fall prey to instantification, the more useless we will become and lose all the joy in the journey.
In a world that wants everything now, let’s be the ones who cherish the journey. After all, some of the best things in life take time - like a perfectly aged wine, a great friendship, or the punchline of a really good joke.
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