Sometimes, I wonder how much of our lives have been centered on convenience.
For instance, we are able to order meals without going out of our houses, purchase anything with just a few clicks, chat with people who are miles away, and navigate places without having any idea how to get there.
Frankly, I don’t think that the concept of convenience is wrong in itself. Technology has improved many aspects of our lives, and we don't have a problem with that.
The issue arises when we start feeling awkward about taking the old-fashioned approach.
We can't recollect phone numbers since our devices take care of that task for us. We need not necessarily figure out directions since navigation services can help us in this regard. We can entertain ourselves whenever we are bored; thus, even an idle moment becomes awkward for us.
Perhaps, the real dilemma is not whether or not convenience is bad or good.
It is whether or not we have relied on it so much that we have forgotten to live without it.
The weird part is that convenience tends to feel benign when we’re in the middle of using it.
A single shortcut doesn’t really matter. But a thousand of them could start to affect our behavior over time.
Anything that takes too long to do? Find a shortcut. Anything we don’t know about? Google it. Anything we’re tired of waiting for? Grab our phones. Anything we need? Have it delivered.
None of those things are inherently bad, either.
But sometimes I worry that we’ve lost the ability to handle effort.
Some parts of life were never meant to be easy. Figuring out how to do something, making food, developing a skill, talking to people, or even just being by yourself.
Convenience makes life easier when there’s no need for difficulty, which is wonderful.
But all difficulties aren’t unnecessary.
Sometimes putting in some effort improves us, builds patience, and develops skills.
Maybe the point isn’t to always find an easy solution.
Maybe it’s to know which things are worth making a little harder.
Of course, it is not necessary to completely refuse from technology and live as if everything was too complicated.
That would not be reasonable.
Convenience has made our life easier indeed. Online banking saves time. Navigations help us move from one place to another. Technology has made what was impossible possible. Communication has become much faster.
In my opinion, the thing that matters here is choice.
I do not want to become a person dependent on a specific application or device or service. It is still important for me to be able to get around without using GPS, cook food without delivering it, relax without spending time on a phone, and look for solutions without searching for an answer online.
Perhaps it is that very balance we miss.
Use convenience if it works for you, but do not let it convince you that effort means inefficiency.
Because sometimes the difficult way is not inefficient.
Sometimes it is the experience.
And maybe being able to do something without convenience is a kind of freedom we tend to underestimate.
