Instant Gratification and Early Death

[Nick]

"Loud time" - a period characterized by a flurry of activity, either in a social setting or with one person alone in front of a television or computer. Going to a bar with friends, watching a Hollywood blockbuster on DVD, or playing Madden on the PS2 are all examples. Contemplative activities like reading and gardening are not generally considered a part of "loud time."

Boredom - a feeling of restlessness and dissatisfaction. A person can react to boredom by seeking a change from his current activities or throwing himself deeper into them.

Early death - termination of life before a person is fulfilled and willing to die.

The average lifespan has increased significantly even over the last century. A lot of the credit, of course, goes to advances in health care. As knowledge of physiology and medicine grows, the prospect of a long and healthy life grows with it.

When it comes down to it, though, the main reason these miracles are being worked in health care is the explosive growth of technology. The machines that facilitate invasive procedures, harvesting of resources for use in medicines, and the dissemination of information contribute incalculably to modern health care.

So now we have more forms of entertainment than ever, and more time than ever to enjoy them. What are the effects of gorging on all this eye and ear candy before us?

I know people who run in and turn on the television the moment they walk into their homes. Some of us have hundreds of movies and hundreds of video games. Some drive everywhere they can, then place a call on their cell phones on the way from their car to the building. Always talking, always watching, always listening, a week without human contact or flashy toys might be unbearable for some people.

So, if you watch every major movie that comes down the pike, and you watch all the latest music videos, and you go out drinking with your pals every chance you get, when do you reach the point when you are bored? If your life is built around a regular cycle of "loud time" and "relaxation," what is the depth of your happiness?

You know how most of the time you can tell who will live and who will die in a movie? How your friends recycle jokes? How you are subjected to the same images over and over again, with only thin coats of paint to differentiate their occurrences? You know how you say you want to "relax," but you really mean you are understimulated?

Do you seek out bootleg versions of movies currently at the cinema? Do you have gigabyte after gigabyte of MP3s? Do you want it all right now? How do you feel when you get it?

Answer these questions and let's have us a fun thread:

1. At what point has a person overexposed himself to a stimulus? We may joke about old men needing Viagra, but do those men need it because their bodies stopped working right or because they are simply bored with sex at some level? Can we expose ourselves to something so much that we want to sabotage our enjoyment of it just to make it more interesting?

2. Do people get sick and grow old because they are bored or ineffectual?

3. What is a treat? If a child can have a Coke with every meal and a candy bar whenever he wants one, and he can download any movie he wants free of charge, should he? Will that harm his character or stunt his development? Will he be more easily bored?

Talk to me.

[Low]

1. Bored is one way to look at it, another is addiction, becoming so accustomed to stimulus that you can't think straight without it. At that point...

2. A person can decline into a negative rountine does effect their health and consequently life expectency. I say negative rountine as I work with guys in their 70's that get 3-4 hours of sleep a day and with a clean life and a stable rountine seem happy and very productive (moreso than many teens I work with).

3. Well, good question and one that has become more difficult with the information age. A computer is a "treat" as it offers a vast array of interesting things to interact with or view. As such it needs to be controlled as a child can be spoiled by having anything at his/her disposal. Treats to me are to be given for being good, a little something extra because you work hard or have good behavior. Constantly being given items dulls the joy you feel in recieving a reward and more and more becomes routine. I can say from my own experience I treasured the games I was given or bought as a kid because I could savor playing it, as a adult I buy far more games but play each less and rarely get that level of enjoyment from them. Hand a kid a computer and a stock of emulators and ROMs and be surprised if they are happier than if they had one game. *-neo

[Rick]

I always enjoy a Nick thread, so to answer your questions as best I can...

1. At what point has a person overexposed himself to a stimulus? We may joke about old men needing Viagra, but do those men need it because their bodies stopped working right or because they are simply bored with sex at some level? Can we expose ourselves to something so much that we want to sabotage our enjoyment of it just to make it more interesting?

In our modern times where so much is so readily available, monotony is the bane of existence. The only way to change monotony (or boredom, for that matter) is to change what we do. We can seek out a totally different activity, or we can modify the current one, which one we choose is probably a matter of circumstance.

2. Do people get sick and grow old because they are bored or ineffectual?

People get sick and grow old because our bodies can't last forever. We break down, we decompose. But as you said, with the technology of today, the real question is, without all this medical science, would the overactiveness of our times cause a decrease in expected lifespan as opposed to an increase?

3. What is a treat? If a child can have a Coke with every meal and a candy bar whenever he wants one, and he can download any movie he wants free of charge, should he? Will that harm his character or stunt his development? Will he be more easily bored?

A treat is a pleasurable thing that isn't always readily available. A Coke with every meal and a candy bar whenever you want isn't a treat anymore, it's so readily available that it becomes a staple. Since it becomes a staple, it becomes monotonous, and even results in a dislike of the "candy bar." I work in a candy store, I get free candy whenever I please, since its always there for me, I no longer even want it. Hell, I've even developed a distaste for large amounts of sugar after working there for two years. Does this harm my character? Not really. Of course, eating sugar is a pretty inconsequential thing. Depending on the situation and circumstances, however, developing a distaste for something can seriously affect character.

[Astral]

I think the real issue tends to be whats going on inside a person. If everyone took time out to think for themselves and not let there surrounding eveiorments and people dictate thier actions and feelings the issues of constant stimuli and boredom would be less prevelant.

Maybe it's me but when your constantly looking for stimuli, can't part of that be because you just trying to not be left alone with your own thoughts. Is alot of what we do just to avoid having to admit something to ourselves? Also getting swept away and letting our surroundings shape us at will is a far much easier way to live then not.

Then again typically the way you see the world is pretty much how you see yourself in it...... So maybe it's just me.

[Nash]

Originally posted by Nick
1. At what point has a person overexposed himself to a stimulus? We may joke about old men needing Viagra, but do those men need it because their bodies stopped working right or because they are simply bored with sex at some level? Can we expose ourselves to something so much that we want to sabotage our enjoyment of it just to make it more interesting?

i think the point where a person overstimulates himself is when one of two things (or maybe even both) occurs: a) like mentioned, boredom, and b) like neoalphazero mentioned, addiction. for the viagra question, i'm gonna go with their bodies stop working right. cuz i think if you're bored of sex and you can't get it up, then even if viagra gets it up for you, you're still gonna be bored. unless viagra does something more than just get it up for you. for the second question, i think so. remember when shidoshi wanted to destroy a rare game? he wanted to make the situation more interesting by getting a big rouse from us.

2. Do people get sick and grow old because they are bored or ineffectual?

i don't really understand this question. if you're talking biologically, then read rick's post. if you're talking personality, then most likely. people who seem bored, are. they need something to be passionate about, or just something to get them excited. and if they not passionate about anything, they will be bored.

3. What is a treat? If a child can have a Coke with every meal and a candy bar whenever he wants one, and he can download any movie he wants free of charge, should he? Will that harm his character or stunt his development? Will he be more easily bored?

well, i think he'll be bored if he keeps getting the same treat over and over. like rick said, the treat no longer becomes a treat, so the child will get bored. however, as long as the child continues to treat himself with different things, he won't get bored. when he runs out of things to treat himself with, and/or ends up treating himself to the same thing over and over, he will become bored.

[youandwhosearmy]

Ah Nick.

My second day back and your already looking for answers eh?


Alright.

1. At what point has a person overexposed himself to a stimulus? We may joke about old men needing Viagra, but do those men need it because their bodies stopped working right or because they are simply bored with sex at some level? Can we expose ourselves to something so much that we want to sabotage our enjoyment of it just to make it more interesting?

Yes of course. I would theorize that a decent amount of depression cases are caused by constant exposure to stimuli that the brain finds itself conditionined to.

Example, you go to a U2 show and are exposed to certain emotional stimuli that brings you to tears. After expecting the same thing from the DVD of the show you just went to you bought, you watch it, and again are brought to tears.

The more you are exposed to anything, the less the effect of that thing is. As you grow older there are less and less things that have that affect on your mind. You crave them though. You want them. As you age they get farther and farther apart, so your expectations fall just as fast.

A full life is one where the only thrill left is death.

2. Do people get sick and grow old because they are bored or ineffectual?

See above.

Depression has been shown to have a terrible effect on the living body, from weight gain, to unhealthy living habits. I supposed being bored of such things would explain a lot.

Growing old, I don't know. We just grow old. Everyone grows old and everyone dies, whether or not they are ready to. So thats more a matter of personal opinion, but I honestly don't think so.

3. What is a treat? If a child can have a Coke with every meal and a candy bar whenever he wants one, and he can download any movie he wants free of charge, should he? Will that harm his character or stunt his development? Will he be more easily bored?

I already answered this in question #1, so instead I'll name a few of my favorite cities,

Chicago

Lake Tahoe

Alberqerque


Did I mention Cleavland?


Mistake by the malake...



What?

[rezo]

1. I think they're overexposed when they begin to lessen their interaction with something. over-exposed to the cinema. You'll probably start watching less. Want to sabotage your cinema time? why not, its something to break the monotony. the monotony of something that was previously enjoyable. Which fits in with what you were sayinh, yus?


2. no. I'm assuming there's some other meaning to this question. . . but. . . apparently older people with active minds live longer. So, in this respect, yes.


3. What is a treat? If a child can have a Coke with every meal and a candy bar whenever he wants one, and he can download any movie he wants free of charge, should he? Will that harm his character or stunt his development? Will he be more easily bored?

A treat would be defined(or this is how I'm defining it) as recieving something pleasurable, that is somewhat outside of the norm. yeah. so constant TV and candy aren't treats. those kids would need to be treated to something else, and I imagine their reaction would be similar to the kids that recieve movies and candy as treats, but they would be reacting to different things. It would not stunt their development, well, this is to assume that there is a set way that they are supposed to develop, but treats are extra anyways, the more things that are common, the greater the understanding the child can develop in general, though they may not, it would be easier to, should they care to.

As for boredom, I'm not sure of a response. wait. here it is: that child, in "loud time", is that kid with less things going on around him when he finds something to do. Not sure if that makes sense. but.

That kid, who doesn't have much going on about him, would want to do more. As this "more" becomes the norm, they would then want more. I'd say, if this is true, then these two children will be the same, but one is successful, and the other is not. The unsuccessful child may turn to other means to satisfy himself. Such as thinking, or reading, but its towards the same goal. The pleasure one gains from reading, or watching a movie, would lead to them wanting more of that pleasure. If anything, the "loud time" for one individual will be easier to recognize, but, if relative to the activity and participation of the person, that quiet fellow without the technology and whatnot around him, could be just as active as the other, and in that respect equal. And they are working towards similar goals, with respect to being active.

[Hero]

Nick, you already know what I'm gonna say =)

[Nick]

Originally posted by neoalphazero
Treats to me are to be given for being good, a little something extra because you work hard or have good behavior. . . . Hand a kid a computer and a stock of emulators and ROMs and be surprised if they are happier than if they had [only] one game.

Prosperity is spreading and leisure time growing not only in the United States, but to varying degrees all around the world. The simplest modern pleasures would have astounded the richest, most powerful noblemen of yesteryear. It is now possible to immerse yourself in a stream of noise from the time you awaken to the time you go to bed, day after day, cradle to grave.

This commotion, this entertainment, is so comforting, so tempting, and so accessible, that I fear the "couch potato" state will extend far beyond the living room and produce throngs who actively pursue passivity, if that makes sense.

Where there is too much passivity, there is not enough growth. Where there is not enough growth, death eventually snakes its way in.

It is bitterly ironic that technology allows us to live longer, but also makes it easier to numb ourselves to death.

Originally posted by Rick
In our modern times, where so much is so readily available, monotony is the bane of existence.

Is it monotony, or is it something else? (see below)

Originally posted by Astral
. . . [W]hen you're constantly looking for stimuli, can't part of that be because you [are] just trying to not be left alone with your own thoughts?

Bingo!

Wasn't there a race in Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy that would incessantly talk about anything and everything? They chit-chatted all the day long, never shutting up for an instant. It turns out they were developing telepathic powers, and rather than broadcast their inane inner life to the masses, they gabbed all day to cover up the sound.

I wonder if there is any correlation between them and the people who refuse to tear themselves away from their TVs and cell phones? Are they trying to drown out their inane and insubstantial inner life?

Originally posted by Nash
If you're bored of sex and you can't get it up, then even if Viagra gets it up for you, you're still gonna be bored - unless Viagra does something more than just get it up for you.

My contention is that when you are so obsessed with sex, and so conditioned to remain obsessed, when you do become bored of it to a great extent, you can lose your potency for psychological reasons. Viagra forces an erection, but it doesn't force an admission of the underlying causes.

Similarly, burnout can occur with other forms of entertainment, but the most common reactions do nothing but exacerbate the problem.

When all you know is fluff, and you get sick of it, how do you react? How can you develop a rich inner life with such a foundation? It is so tempting to just try to turn up the noise level.

Originally posted by youandwhosearmy
A full life is one where the only thrill left is death.

Brilliant! Is that one of yours?

Originally posted by rezo
. . . Overexposed to the cinema? You'll probably start watching less. . . . older people with active minds live longer. . . . [Loud and quiet kids] are working towards similar goals with respect to being active.

Most people I know who complain about the state of movies, take one of two actions:

a. They just keep going to the cinema, grumbling all the way (it is so hip to be cynical);
b. They watch the same number of movies per month, but they rent or download more, to lessen the impact on their wallets.

Others substitute some other kind of noise for the movies they were used to watching. You are expected to watch TV and movies and socialize according to the preferred methods of your social/ethnic/economic circle. Go back to what Astral said about external influences on a person's inner life.

Contemplation and analytical thinking are becoming even rarer birds than before. I worry that the loud kids, who think their lives are so awesome, are setting themselves up for burnout and boredom - and probably an earlier death. Look at all the grumbling and sarcasm around us: "This is boring;" "That is lame."

Is this healthy?

Originally posted by Hero
Nick, you already know what I'm gonna say.

That you're too lazy to type?

[Hero]

Alright fool. =)

I'm with this: no noise forces you to look at yourself and what you really are. Not many people are ready to face that, so they scramble for whatever they can find that will keep them from introspect. Want to know how I know this?

I had a friend who told me I 'think too much.'

In all honesty, the 'good' life is made up of anything but thinking. In fact, it's almost fleeing, running for dear life from the realization that you[ as person have been burned down to nothing but your actions and pusuits. Would anyone want to face the fact that they , for the lack of a better term, ARE nothing but the drinking, the sex, the collecting, the partying, etc.?

So a lot of people need the noise. When in silence they run, but there are those who do what's against the norm and stay in introspect. They try to figure these things out and learn to appreciate the silence, the noise, and everything.

You can't stay in noise forever before growing deaf to the reality of life, but stuck in silence proves no good for the self or anyone else around the self.