Dwindling patience: The curse of the instant.

I was in the ninth grade when for the first time ever, we had a ‘special class’. Special class used to be special for me, because we got to wear colored clothes instead of the school uniform. The special class lasted one hour. Twenty minutes more than the regular period at the school. Those extra minutes seemed like a lot. There was no escape.

Jump cut to 2003, during my post-graduation, each class lasted for two hours. Unimaginable. At times, we would communicate by passing around chits. There were no phones to gaze at — only the professor. Or you got to stare into your books, or doodle at the back of your notebook. There was no escape.

Jump cut to 2013. After working for eight years, I went back to school, for another Master’s. Each class lasted 2 hr 50 mins. But…we had our laptops. There was access to phone. And you know in the US, unlike India, the professor didn’t really care much about what students did. While I tried hard to concentrate, I would sometimes waver and look at my laptop screen, open a news or a social media tab.

There was a time not too long ago, we were patient. We waited for things to happen. We would give time for someone to impress us. But now, everything happens in flashes. Instant gratification is not just mandatory, it is the only way things operate. Like my friend Rajasekhar put it today, you have thirty seconds to impress anyone — otherwise, you’re out.

What is it about the times we live in that we seek instant results? Why do we not wait? Because we ran out of time? Or we don’t want to wait? Why? What’s the hurry? Why is it that it is important to be constantly gratified? Why is it not okay to be bored anymore? I remember taking long bus journeys, alone, with no devices, just looking outside the window, lazing into my thoughts. There would be no pressure to respond to a tweet or start a new thread before I got bored. I loved those times more.

And in this urge for getting things done quickly, entangled with push-button joy inducement, has a whole generation lost the ability to experience life the way it was originally meant to be?

And we’re all guilty of this behavior. Let’s say you start watching a video on Facebook or Youtube. If it doesn’t impress you in the first ten minutes, you’ll lose your patience and continue scrolling. In fact, if an advertisement plays, I simply close the video. In this process, did I miss out on something really amusing? Well, I don’t know. Maybe I did. But who cares? I just had to fan my arrogance — “This poor video did not impress my high standards!”. I didn’t have the patience . And that is where the problem is. If The Godfather released today, people in the theater will walk out pissed off even before they finish the first twenty-minutes because of the boring wedding scenes and the ugly Italian singing.

And the fascination for being impressed has gone too far. Someone ordinary is not respected as much anymore. If a person is living a simple life and is not into anything special or doesn’t have any hobbies or is not popular in social media, is not tech savvy, or is not following the latest tv show or sports tournament, or is simply off the grid, he is considered second class. Where the hell did this come from? Apart from being in a hurry, people are also being in a hurry to be stupid.

What is the hurry? Where are we going? What are we doing other than jumping from artificially induced instant joy burst to another? Why is it not easy to simply sit the fuck down and relax without losing patience? Why is it important to be impressed with everything and that too instantly?

I think we’re seriously jeopardizing the prospects of having a calm and satisfying life by falling for the instant-trap. I think it’s important to understand that there’s no hurry. If you aren’t the first, there’s nothing wrong in it. You don’t have to be the first. And it’s not important to be entertained all the time. Boredom is good. In fact, I suspect some of the greatest things have been built as a result of boredom. If Leonardo Da Vinci had a smartphone, he would’ve never built or painted or sculpted or architected anything.

This fascination for being allergic to boredom and taking pride in it is a sure sign of human degeneration. We need to get bored and need more activity-free time. Sometimes, it’s important to sit the fuck down and do nothing.

However, I am glad there are things that still take time and patience. You can’t write a book instantly. You can’t paint a portrait instantly. You can’t compose a musical masterpiece at the push of a button. You can’t enjoy the second and third notes of a single malt whiskey in the first sip. You can’t make a great film without a long creative struggle. Falling in love to the extent of trusting them and having them love you back still takes time.

Beautiful things take time. Assholery is instant.

— Deepak Karamungikar