A Culture of Impatience

Source: http://www.globalbankingandfinance.com
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Not only has technology changed the information sharing process to a cyclical process and changed society’s demand of information to be available 24/7, but technology has also changed our culture to one that is impatient.  For example,  technology has introduced online shopping with same-day delivery.  “Smartphone apps eliminate the wait for a cab, a date, or a table at a hot restaurant.  Movies and TV shows begin streaming in seconds” (Muther, 2013, para. 3).  The introduction of all this new technology has lead to a cultural change where people have grown more impatient.  “This mentality [is called]…‘IWWIWWIWI (I want what I want when it want it)’” (Kusek, 2014, para. 1).  And this mentality has also spilled over into the mass media arena.  

“The need for instant gratification is not new, but our expectation of ‘instant’ has become faster, and as a result, our patience is thinner” (Muther, 2013, para. 11).  Electronic devices have propelled audiences’ needs for instant information.  A U.K. study regarding customer service found that “one-fifth of all social media users will check for a response at least once an hour, with one in 20 checking every 10 minutes or more” (Global Banking & Finance Review, 2014, para. 8). Consumers are glued to their mobile devices and the immediate information that can be provided.  The shift towards an impatient culture is also displayed

Source: https://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/style
/2013/02/01/the-growing-culture-impatience-
where-instant-gratification-makes-crave-
more-instant-gratification/q8tWDNGeJB2mm45fQxtTQP
/story.html

with video technology.  “Ramesh Sitaraman, a computer science professor at UMass Amherst, examined the viewing habits of 6.7 million internet users in a study released last fall [2012].  How long were subjects willing to be patient?  Two seconds” (Muther, 2013, para. 8).  After two seconds, audiences abandon the video, with approximately 50% of the audience abandoning the video after ten seconds.  

Today, audiences are also impatient with news.  They expect that when they learn of news, the same news will be available online, television, radio, and more, and that the news will be available immediately, regardless of whether or not the information is complete.  If audiences do not find the information that they want quickly, they will begin to abandon certain news sources as they will find them unreliable and behind the times.

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References:

Global Banking & Finance Review.  (2014, January 31).  New UK ‘impatience index’ confirms generational shift as digital consumers expect responses in 10 minutes, not 10 days.  Retrieved from http://www.globalbankingandfinance.com/new-uk-impatience-index-confirms-generational-shift-as-digital-consumers-expect-responses-in-10-minutes-not-10-days/.

Kusek, K.  (2014, October 20).  Retail's new battleground: The I want what I want when I want it generation.  Forbes.  Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/kathleenkusek/2014/10/20/i-want-what-i-want-when-i-want-it-special-delivery-mandatory/.

Muther, C.  (2013, February 2).  Instant gratification is making us perpetually impatient.  The Boston Globe.  Retrieved from https://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/style/2013/02/01/the-growing-culture-impatience-where-instant-gratification-makes-crave-more-instant-gratification/q8tWDNGeJB2mm45fQxtTQP/story.html.