Technology has changed the way we receive, process and obtain information. Why go to a library, when you can use Google? Why print out a map, when your phone can give you the directions itself? Why even wait, in a world where waiting is nearly obsolete?

Instant gratification has plagued the first-world citizens.

January 1, 1970. The date that means nothing to those without an Apple device, but instills fear in iOS users. When you change the present date to Jan. 1, 1970, it corrupts any iOS device from the 5c and up. This means your $1000 rose gold 6s is worthless, nothing but a pretty paperweight.

I learned this on Feb. 2, 2016. Lying in my bed I wondered- why did this bother me so much? Obviously the device cost me and my family a lot out of pocket, but another thought crossed my mind. I was upset because I felt a major loss.

Without a working phone, I could not get what I wanted. I could not play my cat game, text my friends , nor could I even Google what caused the brick in my phone.

I realized I was even more upset over my lack of instant gratification.

This feeling has been present every day since the internet has gotten faster and more accessible. Even in our classrooms, when the chomebooks aren’t working, everyone is upset and complaining. It’s as if we are babies whose binky was taken away.

As we progress, mentally, we are taking steps back.

“The inability to wait for that gratification has more to do with our habits,” said Julie Ertmann, AP Biology teacher.

Ertmann went on to say how pleasure sensors in our brains respond when we receive instant gratification. The release of dopamine, the “happy” hormone, allows us to feel content when we get what we want, right in that instant.

“We have become selfish and demanding,” said Jacqueline Meyer, psychology teacher. “We are not willing to give up anything. If we are expected to wait, we will go somewhere else. We have too many options.”

Meyer also went on to say how because of instant gratification in our society, we now experience impulse-control disorder—we act before we think.

A way to conquer this issue is to refrain from depending on technology. Nothing is perfect in this world, and technology will fail as many times as it will work. By relying on other, more stable resources, we can lower our impulses when confronted with faulty technology.