I am starting to think that video games have something to do with short attention spa, and may lead to the eventual downfall of humanity. Yes, it is a lot to put on games, but consider this: We used to have the ability to delay gratification for a long time. Now we have to build in a zone of proximal development in nearly everything we do, less the participants quit.
Nobody wants to be bad at the game–no matter what game this is–be it life or GTA, we need to feel successful in order to want to continue. With so many games ready to occupy our moments, we turn to the ones that offer gratification quickly and repeatedly, making us feel like we earned the high. Life is not really like that. To use an example, science is about the ability to delay gratification for a long time–at least for the duration of an experiment and the intense vetting that precludes and follows said experiment. One of the key indicators of who is successful as a scientist and who can’t do the work.
I cannot do the work. I need gratification pretty regularly or I just get bored of the work. It is a constant struggle as a writer, because the writing is never a swift process. I’m very much a novelist not built to be a novelist. I knew this when I dropped out of the Aerospace Engineering program in my college years. I knew this when I started and quickly stopped considering a law degree. I see it everyday on the faces and in the actions of the young people in my life.
Some Thoughts:
- Chill weekend.