The Age of Instant Gratification

It does not matter if you are a baby boomer, Gen X or Gen Y. We have all joined the new religion called instant gratification. Quietly and without warning, and without us saying ‘I do’ – we have come to practice this new mantra. We want everything and we want it now.

Thanks to instant messengers such as MSN and Skype, and Tweeter and Facebook, and of course, 24/7 news, the whole society has drifted towards an expectation of instant gratification. Some call it progress. Some applaud the ‘do it now, get it now’ attitude. Some say it’s the sign the world is coming to an end.

Get this straight – instant gratification is big business
Just look at how restaurants have spruced up everywhere. Who wants to cook when you have to shop for groceries, cook, dish the food out, wash dish, empty the garbage, etc.; when all you need is just walk into your favourite restaurant and voila – you have your meal!

Talking about food – manufacturers are now making big money selling supersize. The trick is – don’t sell 6-packs. Put them all in one tub – and if it’s any good – the consumer will finish everything in one go. It’s the age of instant gratification!

An entire industry has emerged churning out academic certificates in exchange for money. After all, who needs to wait 3 years for a degree and another 3 to add the ‘Dr.’ title in front of their name, right? On the same topic, fresh graduates now expect jobs to land on their laps. After all, with a degree in hand, shouldn’t employers come knocking? Guess who prospered? See all those job sites popping up everyday?

And when these same people landed a job – they expect to be made manager in 3 months. And double my salary, thank you sir! Or else they are off looking for another job. Yes, buy shares in job sites right now.

When we feel we are ready to do business – we expect to have investors lining up to snap up our ideas. And, yes, we are all ready for IPO next year. So here’s another business idea – setup an IPO consulting firm. There are enough instant suckers out there to keep you in business for a long, long time to come.

Retailers, as usual, are the first to catch on. Look at all those ‘buy now, pay later’ ads. Banks are laughing to the … well, banks, thanks to people using and not paying their credit cards. Because in the age of instant gratification, everyone spends now and pay later. Whoever said the recent financial crisis was caused by subprime mortgage must be kidding themselves – have they not heard of instant gratification and how it has brought the world to its knees?

If everyone has a choice, no one will want his or her money in some retirement fund. Why take care of the future when you have your needs now? And you know what – that makes sense too!

Yes, it’s everywhere
If you think it’s a generational problem – think twice. How often have you honked when the car in front moved a tad too slow? And how often you switched lanes at immigration just so there are fewer people in front of you? And have you never prayed for things to happen faster, and with less effort?

In politics, entertainment, sports and even religion – instant gratification is now the new mantra. And no, there’s nothing you can do to reverse. Just try a little patience, or join the crowd.

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This article appeared in the January 2010 issue of SME Magazine. Visit www.smemagazine.asia or get a copy from your nearest book store!