"Instant" Generation

For the first time yesterday I heard the term "Instant Generation" used in reference to myself, my husband and my SIL and that got me thinking. Do we today really require everything to be ready now, or at least when we want it to be: in an instant? I think we do... and the more I think about it, the more I'm disturbed.

As people we are getting REALLY demanding. Basically we want everything right away! You walk into a supermarket, you find shelves and shelves of instant food... from noodles to soups to curries to pasta sauces. Today everyone's an instant chef. Even with pictures, you go out, you snap a few pics, go home, download it and within the hour it's on Facebook. I was watching a show on Channel 5 over the weekend and it was called "Instant Beauty Pageant"! Girls were turned into beauty queens in a matter of hours. If you're pregant and want to have your baby on a certain date, you go into the hospital, you get induced or GA-ed and pop, your baby's out... instant delivery (well, not quite... but you get the drift).

What happened to being part of the process? What happened to working on stuff and then savouring the final result? I think perhaps we need to get back to basics. We need to work hard at getting good results, and perhaps steer clear of short cuts, quick fixes and instant solutions. Well... let me start my fast of "instants" today and see how far I go. :o)