The Easy Button

This is just an article that I recently wrote for the State News (our school newspaper..look for it next week =). I though I would share it with you since my updates have been limited.


Is America hooked on the “Easy Button?”
The other day I was watching TV when one of the highly popular Staples commercials came on air. It showcased a man who couldn’t find his easy button, and asked a coworker for help. Instead of looking for the man’s missing necessity, she reached for her own button, pressed it and voila, his appeared.
All of the Staple commercials go basically the same way. Something happens that appears impossible or unfixable. Either office supplies are falling from the air (“easy button on”) or, like above, something is missing (“easy button off”). Hence using the button (which symbolizes the chain store) is the key to everything.
The message of these ads is clear: Staples makes shopping and technology easy for the costumer, no matter what it is they are looking for.
The commercials continued on (like advertisements for fast food and Match.com) and I really got to wondering about this so-called “Easy Button.” If you think about it, the American population takes a chance at pushing this button whenever we can. We want the quick fix.
We search for any available immediate answer out there, and the results are impacting our lives in not-so-positive ways. Especially in the way we communicate.
Think about it. How many times do we come face-to-face with our problems, questions and comments? Everyday conversations that took place just a few years ago are methods of the past. We have “moved-on” to technological answers, but is this always the right way to go?
Go back 50 years. Remember the whole Leave it to Beaver scene? The family sitting around the table, happy and smiling from a successful day. A warm homemade dinner on each plate. The conversation flows like water and everyone enjoys their family’s company.
OK so real life families aren’t so cheesy, but we all used to take pleasure in some sort of table-talk with our parents and siblings. It was a good time to catch up, eat a good meal and actually speak with our relatives.
Now, all we do is “easy-button-it” and grab a bucket from KFC or some Happy Meals. We live off of fast food and eating on the go. I realize families these days are busy with sports, work and other extra curriculars. Half of us aren’t even at home anymore, obviously. But even when we visit our respective towns how often is it you sit with your entire family for a meal?
We have lost that image of a strong conversation over a hot meal. While it doesn’t seem like too big of a deal, it was a time for family bonding which is an important aspect of a healthy community. Like it or not.
It isn’t only interfamily communication that is dwindling. Way back when (i.e.: five or 10 years ago) when we needed a job, we went out and looked for one. Even if the ad was in the paper, we got dressed up to attempt a professional look, printed off that exaggerated resume and headed off to grab an application or interview.
Now? We search the papers sure, but the job world is online. Monstertrak.com, Helpwanted.com, the list goes on. All we have to do is sit at home at our desk and search engine jobs in our cities. Hundreds pop up, and all we have to do is click (said easy button) and off goes our resume. All of this can be done in our pajamas. Last year, I even conducted an interview online. Don’t ask how that went.
We can work from home or even in a workplace, never leave your office. We are losing personal connections with our potential coworkers and bosses. The feeling of individual relationships within the workplace is pretty rare. Everything is done by email and Internet memos.
Even the slightly personable phone call is being “upgraded” to texts or AIM. Dreading an awkward convo? No worries, just easy-button-it and bingo, have said conversation online. Need to talk during class? Not a problem. Easy-it, send a text.
Even our relationships can take short-cuts these days. Believe me, I’m not knocking the web sites or anyone’s way of meeting someone, I’m just making a point. But we can sign up at eHarmony or Match.com and find a partner. You don’t have to do anything to meet someone except for fill out a list of ‘wants’ and ‘don’t wants’ and you are all set.
There isn’t a touch of intimacy and flirtation at all. It’s hard to believe that all this can be done through a computer, when it once involved nights with the girls or guys to search for “the one.”
Although communication is getting easier, it all seems to be involving more technology than people. Is this really the way we want our country to go? Into a realm of Internet conversations and romances? Dinners consisting solely of fast food eaten on the go.
Who knew a simple Staple’s commercial can sum up our daily lives as an American?