Can you imagine living one hundred years ago? You wake up to the sound of the cock crowing or the sun rising and turn over in bed to light your candle so that you can see. You have school today, so you grab your things and get ready for the three mile walk ahead of you. The teachers worry about animals, notes and gum disturbing the class. When you get off from school you help out on the farm or prepare food to be eaten. Flash forward to an average day in 21st century America with alarm clocks, cars, music, phones, and computers, and it seems obvious that much has changed. Getting to school happens in the blink of an eye, teachers have much more to compete with now than simply paper notes, and gum. We are bombarded by media almost every second of every day. Most people watch television more than a couple hours a day. Television is not the only thing being consumed at a rapid rate, but social networking along with texting have grown immensely in our nation. So how have our technological innovations changed the way we live? All of the media and technology we have surrounded ourselves with has drawn us further and further away from any reflective state, so that we are a nation caught up in peripheral pleasure while losing sight of any foundation upon which to stand.
Our consumption of media has hindered our ability to reflect on issues, as we insist that these issues are difficult to handle. In response we settle for the quick fix. When we settle for the quick fix we ingrain a behavioral pattern of laziness. We watch media and become used to sitting in a passive position, allowing others to guide and entertain us. When this lifestyle becomes central we become sluggish and lazy; we become easily satisfied with whatever pleasure requires the least exertion or effort. Rather than seeking true relationships, men will watch pornography to get a quick and easy fix. Instead of writing our own work we instead take someone else’s words and use them. When reading a book would truly serve us the most good we sit down and watch TV. When hungry we choose fast food rather than taking time to prepare a healthy meal. This goes down to the heart of the way we live. Instead of dealing with our own problems and the evil that runs down each of us we point the finger at the problems of the world. We seek simple, easy solutions that give us the maximum pleasure with minimal effort, despite the fact that it is not what is truly good for us.
When we are no longer thoughtful about life and choose laziness, our life becomes less meaningful. Our culture is entirely confused about what meaning is and where it resides. Meaning is wrapped up in purpose. When we think about the meaning of our lives we reflect on what our purpose is, what we are supposed to do, and what our goals are. If we are lazy and unreflective then we don’t see the connection between our purpose and meaning. We view meaning as whatever gives us pleasure or instant happiness. Media has trained us to find meaning in what draws our attention and gives us pleasure or satisfaction the quickest. Meaning collides with hedonism, the sole pursuit of pleasure. If we are reflective we will see that to have a meaningful or purposeful life requires hard work and does not come by being passive or lazy. Sometimes the most important things we do in life are the hardest and require determination and grit to do. We must understand that meaning is not merely found in what brings us pleasure or what can satisfy us the quickest. Meaning is found in realizing what our goal is and living in accordance with that purpose.
When we lack meaning in our lives we seek to find it in the newest thing. When we get lonely or bored we distract ourselves with television, texting or social networking. Since there is no depth in our lives we prefer quantity. Essentially, we want more things rather than depth in one thing. So, we continue to distract ourselves with numerous devices to focus our attention on something new and different in the attempt to abstain from boredom. This also distracts us from reflecting on the lack of depth in our lives. We believe that getting more friends on facebook, seeing the latest action movie, or texting throughout the day will keep us entertained- -allowing us to feel that we have meaningful lives.
Much has changed in the past hundred years. The vast expanse of media has forever changed the landscape of our world. The ability to reflect on life in its fullness is rapidly vanishing as the superficiality of this age is taking over. Our desire for entertainment has taken deep roots in society and has had a major impact on our ability to deliberate on situations. Our search for pleasure and satisfaction (which much of our media tells us is found in the easiest and quickest satisfaction) leads us back into the never-ending cycle. We are consumed with media that distracts us, causing a lack of thoughtfulness about life. This in turn, leads to laziness, lack of meaning in life and the search for new devices or mediums that will grab our attention. Much has changed over the years. We can’t allow superficiality to win the day.
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