Long-term Effects of Instant Pudding

It was the late 40's when televisions were setting up shop in living rooms across America, programming shows like Puppet Playhouse and Howdy Doody. TV became an endless source of instant entertainment. By the 1950's Instant Jell-O Pudding was introduced as the "busy day dessert". Since then everything from mashed potatoes to tanning has become available... in an instant.

At 13, my son has been fully indoctrinated into instant gratification along with the rest of his generation. Cable. Xbox. Wii. And of course, the Internet, which has become TV on crack. No more just turning on a box to simply get instant visual entertainment, now you can have instant access to whatever you would want to purchase, see, hear, play, learn, research, or experience. It's a wonderful thing, except it doesn't foster an appreciation for the virtues of patience. On one of our many Sunday walk-abouts my son and I discussed the idea of how controlling the need for instant gratification is key to long term success. I think it was the psychologist Daniel Goleman whose research in the mid-80s and subsequent New York Bestseller, Emotional Intelligence tied success with an ability to delay gratification.

The Internet serves as a fast forward or fast rewind tool. You are able to defy the linear laws of time and space. It has also become instant consumer-driven 'order' in chaos. While I am excited about the Internet dissolving obstacles and boundaries (my son says it levels the playing field... "World is Flat" author, Thomas Friedman seems to agree ) and am eager to see where it can take us, I am also aware our children need to learn how to make boundaries when they need them, to understand the value of patience, and the power of the pause.

When I was a kid, my dad used to tell me stories about his days as a tailor's apprentice or a Lineotype operator's apprentice. Apprentices were a dying breed even in my youth. It sounded like a frustrating job to me back then. Funny thing, I chose to be a ballerina and the process is very similar to an apprenticeship. Later, as a writer, I learned I had to be in love with the process of writing and rewriting, along with the slow evolution of getting to the essence of a story, character, or plot. Granted the idea that our kids will totally miss out on the lesson, is not fair to say. There may be the opportunity to learn it. However, when accustom to having everything in an instant, the long-term effects may cause our kids to jump into a fire of learning instead of having the benefits of slower means.

Is there a place for skipping steps? Jumping in without a rulebook? Yes, I believe so. However, to be successful, I still feel there needs to be a highly honed dose of patience. Knowing when to surf, skip, fast forward, rewind, and stop, watch or observe. Being okay to wait it out and learn, research, and study until the environment is more conducive to the venture. If we can learn how to develop that in our kids, I feel they can be true time travelers, able to create in more powerful ways than we ever could.