For the past few months, the internet quality where Blaine and I reside has been absolute shit. The Wi-Fi signal comes and goes at it pleases, completely arbitrarily, and it tends to conk out at the most inconvenient times, for example, when Blaine and I are getting to the good part in a film, or when I’m tutoring someone via Zoom.
It’s gotten to the point I have to connect my Mac to the hotspot on my phone and use my cellular data to post a blog entry.
I contacted Bell, our provider, and they’re sending a tech out within a few days to rectify the issue. I told them I’m pretty sick of paying for high-speed internet when half the time it’s non-existent.
Our lack of internet prompted me to consider how heavily we rely on convenience and speed, and furthermore, how infuriating we find it when neither convenience nor speed are applicable. We have become so familiarized with instant results, in a variety of contexts, that when we are forced to wait a little bit longer than expected, we lose our minds.
Internet serves as a fantastic example in the quickness equation. We are used to opening up a browser, typing in whatever we are searching for, and finding and seeing results, all in a matter of seconds. The convenience is incredible, don’t get me wrong, but again, the moment that expected convenience is unavailable, we enter Hulk mode and feel like destroying everything in sight.
The downside of convenience is an interesting concept, hence why I wanted to devote today’s post to the topic. It isn’t something we think about until we find ourselves in an unideal situation that forces us to stop and consider it, and as annoying as spotty internet has been, in a way, it has made me more mindful of patience and the importance of it.
Photo by Paul Hanaoka on Unsplash
ontheedgeofeverything 