An evil called “Instant Gratification”

Our struggling mind…

In our mind, there is always a trade-off between two options of ‘picking up a book’ and ‘scrolling in the social media’. And while the mind is struggling, we would mostly opt for the latter one (true at least in my case).

There can be many factors behind choosing this option.

One factor can be biological which exists to ensure survival of the fittest (i.e., to save energy by doing easier talk).

Another factor can be the upgradation of technology. It is perfectly shown in Netflix series titled “The Social Dilemma” that social media is being designed in a way to keep us hooked to digital screen. Multiple data scientists and web designers are working to make us all hooked to endless scrolling.

Race towards stealing our greatest asset…

After all, our attention is the greatest asset which is being sought after by all social media companies.

Netflix founder Reed Hastings in 2017 said that sleep is their biggest competitor.

I have two words answer behind this act of choosing to scroll the screen over a book. The two words are INSTANT GRATFICATION.

I came across this concept through one of the recent reads titled “The Joys of Compounding”. This concept says that we incline towards activities which instantly release our happy hormones. For example, we get instant short-term happiness seeing the likes in our social media posts (the same I get in my LinkedIn newsletter posts).

Here comes the problematic part…

I wish instant gratification would have been a blessing in disguise for us, but it is NOT. Instead, the most important aspects of our life (and well-being) can never be found though instant gratification.

Aspect#1 – Money?

Money is crucial to get happiness and independence in life. One way to enhance money is through investments. Let’s consider the case of the guru of investment, Mr. Warren Buffet. He believes in value and long-term investing. The presence of the term “long-term” in its investing style shows the ridiculousness of instant gratification. The magic of compounding also works through the power of TIME (longer the time, better the compounding power).

Aspect#2 – Sleep

Try the below two things before sleeping.?

Day#1 – Scroll phone and observe the quality of sleep next day. (Case of instant gratification)

Day#2 – Read a few pages of book and observe the quality of sleep next day. (Case of delayed gratification)

You will have your answer. Sleep is central to our well-being and yet we are ruining it (and making profit for social media companies).

The abovementioned points are from my personal experience.

Aspect#3 – Relationships

An 85-year Harvard study shows that relationships make us happy in life and helps us live longer. Making relationships better takes a lifetime of effort and patience. We face a lot of challenges in surviving a relationship, but it comes with its own long-term fruit. Again, the point is that relationships are crucial, but it also asks for a long-term approach to work.

I believe abovementioned three aspects simply put a case to focus on delayed gratification instead of instant gratification in our life.

Let's start with a book.

Disclaimer: The above expression is my opinion only.