If it’s ok with you world, I’ll reply later…
Technology. What a wonderful thing! Without a doubt, we live in a world is a world of instant gratification.
24 hour helplines. Extended store opening hours. Next day delivery. A world of entertainment, news, opinions, education and inspiration at our fingertips… if you need or want something, there’s a high possibility that you won’t need to wait long to get it.
And this works so well for today’s consumer! So where’s the problem?
Well, as this cycle becomes part of our daily routine, we also come to expect an instant response from others too – from messages to our friends to contacting and posting on social media platforms. Are we becoming wired to expect these immediate responses?
Take a look at this screenshot I took from our Facebook Page:
See a problem? While we might be able to expect large corporations to respond in super-human time, individuals and independent start-ups aren’t quite the same. It seems, Facebook can ‘reward’ me with a badge if I respond quicker to people’s questions and comments. What a great idea…in principle.
When people communicate with you from different time zones all over the world, reality seeps in. You see, in order for us to respond instantaneously would require me to not be present in so many of life’s moments:
- I would have to stop conversations in full flow at the sound of a notification (don’t worry – these are already turned off).
- I would never be fully present in meetings, and conversations with colleagues when I am working as a worship leader.
- During time spent with friends and family, my mind would be elsewhere.
- Imagine what a songwriting or recording session would be like if I had to stop at the sound of a notification just so that I could get the ‘responds in under 5 minutes’ badge.
- And timezones… What do I do when the other side of the world is awake and active online? Interrupted sleep? Or maybe I should just forego this night time luxury…
- Precious evenings that I spend with my husband, when we don’t work, would be compromised and constantly interrupted.
- In fact, my life would be more focussed online than everything around me and that isn’t really where I want to be.
Don’t get me wrong – I love to get messages of encouragement and questions from people but Facebook, I don’t think you’ve got it right in this case. It’s not about haste. I’d rather spend time on a more personal reply when I have set aside time to be fully present.
So, if it’s ok with you, I might do things differently.
Rest assured I will look forward to reading comments and to replying but if it’s ok with you world… I might reply later.
Written by Anita on 15th March 2016 in Life, Music, Work
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