A New Kind of X-Effect

Do we remember having a remote control for our tv's as children? Did we have tv's at all? Now, some people have more than one tv, and most people have more than one controller. When tv's first came out, remote controllers weren't available. Can you belive that we actually got out of our seats, walked to the tv, turned the dial, and then walked back to our seats and sat down?!! Today, we can do a million things with our remotes. Here's a sample...

Change the channel, change the color, change the pitch, change the picture mode, change the width of the picture, change the display mode, switch inputs, watch dvd's, play nintendo, shop for homes, shop for cars, buy jewelry, rent movies, pause, record, fast-forward, and rewind live programs, access re-runs, listen to music...

The list goes on and on. Do you have a tv? If yes- do you have a remote? Duh! Who doesn't? So why are these things so important to us? What do they mean? A remote control means for me- INSTANT GRATIFICATION. I get to watch what I want, when I want, where I want, with who I want. I don't have to skip work to come home and watch my show. I can record and watch it later. I don't have to put the kids in the back yard so that I can enjoy the program. I can wait for them to go to bed! I don't have to run to the video store to rent a movie. I can pay for it and have it sent to my television then and there- and save the gas money! I don't have to fiddle with the radio to find a station that comes in clearly. I have hundreds of options for music on my tv! All i have to is click a button.

So what does this say about our society, and perhaps, more generally, Generation X? Our new generation, all the way back to those born in 1961, has a remote control mentality. We want everything and we want it now. A remote control, a microwave oven, a credit card, a diet pill- all of these things give us what we want when we want them. We don't have to do any work to get the product we want! A twenty-year old can get a loan and buy a brand new house. Then his/her spouse can get a loan to buy two brand new cars. Then they can use credit cards to decorate and furnish their homes and lives, dropping themselves close to a million dollars in debt.
What happened to working hard to be able to have the things you wanted? What happened to saving money?

I remember saving the money we earned by selling candy from our house to all the neighborhood kids just so i could go down to the store and buy more treats. I remember working with my class at recess, selling treats in order to pay for our field trips.

What was once a convenient piece of equipment used to change the channel on the television set, is now a necessity for those seeking yet not willing to work to acheive.

As families- mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, aunts, uncles, and otherwise influential members of this Generation X, let us all work to change the remote control mentality and pass on to our children and loved ones the true meaning of hard work and the satisfaction of acheiving something you worked hard to acheive.