The Human Predilection for Instant Gratification

In the novel ‘Feed’, M.T Anderson proposed a human can have a small chip placed in the head, that feeds them the best deals, and latest trends, as well as providing all the functions laptops and cell phones used today could provide, and in having this chip implanted in their heads, it encourages buying the best bargains and purchasing the latest products, and keeping up with the trends that are changing daily. Throughout the Novel, Anderson plays with the idea technology as negative effects on society. He shows a society where people’s ability to think is decreasing, as is their emotional capacity, where corporations run the system and have let the environment suffer because of it. He shows a society where advertising and consumerism are driving the human race, and reducing people’s humanity.

Furthermore, I agree with Turkle that technology is overtaking our lives in a way that we might not even notice. Most everyone has one has a cell phone. Whether we are texting, reading emails, or playing Angry Birds, we are so absorbed into a virtual world. Even though we may not realize it, many of

We as people rely on technology too much by expecting the machine to do something by the click of a button and get angry when the machinery isn’t working. At the beginning technology wasn’t thought of too much but at this point technology is getting people addicted from kids to the elderly.

Hedonism and the desire-satisfaction theory of welfare are typically seen as archrivals in the contest over identifying what makes one’s life better. It is surprising, then, that the most plausible form of hedonism is desire satisfactionism. The hedonism theory focuses on pleasure/happiness while the desire-satisfaction theory elucidates the relevance of fulfilling our desires. Pleasure, in some points of view is the subjective satisfaction of desire. I will explain the similarities and the differences between the desire-satisfaction theory of value and hedonism. I will also discuss the most successful theory and defend my argument by explaining how the theory

We as a society have gotten so lost in technology that we have lost sight of the real important things and set some of the least important things as priorities. Do not get me wrong, technology is great and we have made some amazing advancements with it; however, the mistake we made was not limiting our use of it enough, causing us to become very dependent on it. Neil Postman, author of Amusing Ourselves to Death makes some very strong arguments about why he believes technology is taking over and causing a lot of harm, a lot of which I do agree with; however, he also makes some very weak points that I completely disagree with.

Because of this, the stuff people are going out of their way to buy are losing their meaning in a matter of months. “A person in the United States replaces a cell phone every 16 months, not because the cell phone is old, but because it is oldish” (par. 8). Anna uses this statistic as a logical appeal showing how phones aren’t being purchased because of their purpose but how new they are relative to the older phone. This shows how are culture of spending involves buying something because of the single fact it came out yesterday. In retrospect, the meaning of the stuff people consume today is solely tied to its popularity and the fact that everyone else has one. This is an example of a bandwagon, meaning what we buy is determined by how many other people have

In the experiment group, children were asked to postpone their desire to eat marshmallow for ten minutes, but they were notified how much time left to hold their

M.T. Anderson’s Feed is a commentary on the greed and consumerism plaguing today’s world. We may not be wired into the “feed”, however the constant bombardment of ads to buy the coolest, newest, and shiniest products are everywhere. These attacks come as we are surfing the web on our computers, phones, and other handheld devices, while watching TV, and trying to study or researching an article. To escape the onslaught of ads, we buy commercial free TV and radio, of course, to pay for these conveniences is an indulgence. It is expected in our culture to overindulge on everything: homes, cars, electronics, clothing, and lifestyles. Self-gratification is available with a click of the mouse or the swipe of finger on a screen. As in Feed with

Technology’s purpose socially is to make connections faster, and for someone not to utilize its benefits would be left in the dark unable to interact with society. Trends, in addition to technology, also provide a way for the public to connect with each other through similarities. Trends like, “modern marketing… the first national brands” and “pop culture… the first international superstar” are commonalities that bring the American people together (Andersen 3). A lack of knowledge or interest in trends would make that person an outsider to society and less likely to achieve the social standards. As America continues to expand and adapt, new ideas and their transition into advancements, its culture begins to emphasize these advancements as necessary to achieve the social standard.

Many cultural influences make a big impact on the way we live our lives. More often than not, these impacts are negative and result in a step back for society. We so often forget to think about what is best for everyone, the planet, or even just what is the least selfish thing to do. We are constantly only thinking about ourselves and making that the priority, which is an example of a negative influence, when our cultural views and values should be so much more important than that. Both A. O. Scott’s “Film Snob? Is That So Wrong?”, and Paul Roberts “Instant Gratification”, both insights on cultural effects on today’s society, have led me to more thoroughly investigate the causes and effects of these influences on society and the way we live in the world of today.

A man and his wife ride down the road in their horse and buggy, they are going on their monthly trip to town. The buggy is slow and the must take many breaks for their horses to eat and drink, it takes all day. A man and his wife ride down the road in their new automobile, they are going into town for the morning to attend Church. A Man sits in the library reading through dozens of large book looking for the perfect pieces of information for his essay. A woman sits down at a desk, opens her laptop and searches for a quote, easily finding the perfect quote quickly and conveniently. Technology is always changing and improving, sacrificing negatives for advantages and sometimes advantages can bring new downsides, this does not make said technology bad, just simply different.

The author Portia Vann (2014) talks about how social media lacks in coverage and attention by the mainstream media in Australia? And what they can do as a community to improve the showing of professional women’s sports? Vann (2014) is studying how social media is so involved in everything in today’s world, but lacked in broadcasting women’s sports back in 2011 through 2013. So in the article Vann (2014) used the ANZ netball Championship that is held in Australia as an example (netball is similar just like basketball and primarily played by women). The communication theory that Vann (2014) uses is Gratification theory, because he is trying to seek why people do not follow all women’s sports in Australia.

When I came to USA I was thinking about making quick money because when you are in Africa you hear people saying in America everybody is rich. My husband told me you need to go to school first if you want to have a better life in the future. I came to school and I did not work for the entire 5 years. I put off the idea of working and dedicated my life to school. Successful students apply delayed gratification by making commitment through sacrificing themselves, developing growth mindset and having a passion for it.

Last but not least, technology makes us lazy. Children do not want to read books anymore when they can just run to a computer and get the summary of the book. People are becoming obese because they are not getting out of their homes anymore to exercise because they are glued to Farmville on Facebook. We rather do something easy than actually take the time to do it the long way around. Technology has made the people of the world couch potatoes. We can do everything at a push of a button, and we don’t have to put forth much effort to do the things that we once use to do manually.

In North Korea many of the consumer decisions are varied between needs and wants. Because the government is very strict, oppressive, and does not spend on food many people cannot access everything they need. For example in many parts of the country there is mass starvation. To counteract this starvation a large number of people have turned to the drug methamphetamine, known as “ice” to them. The drug itself helps to suppress hunger and allows them an escape from their less than fortunate living conditions. The use of this drug has become somewhat of normality among the people in North Korea and is consistently spreading throughout the country. It has even become common to give a government official a gift of “ice” as a bribe during the holiday/gift-giving season. While these gifts of “ice are obviously not used for the same reasons that others in less fortunate situations are, it is shocking to see how comfortable people are with the use of this drug within the country. It has become such a normal occurrence that even children use it. Unfortunately, this is the only way certain people within North Korea can keep from starving and it must be hard to make a decision like that as a child or even for a parent to make that decision for their child. As people I assume they would rather just be able to have enough food to sustain them rather than use a drug, but since that isn 't possible their overwhelming hunger leads them to that