Where did all the time go? [Opinion]

First, a little forewarning- most of my posts (well, pretty much all) are focused on providing fun, light-hearted content, like fashion-line spotlights and recipes and everything in between. This is going to be a little more serious tho- and if you like it, then great! If not, don't worry- I've got a super fun post on festival fashion in the works, coming to a screen near you soon ;)

After seeing many recent posts like "why our (millennial) generation can't have successful marriages," why our generation is obsessed with themselves and the like, I wanted to bring a question that I hadn't yet seen addressed... where did all the time go?

We text because its faster than phone calling. We phone call because it's faster than visiting. We e-mail because it's faster than writing letters. We check blogs and websites because they're faster than reading magazines. We read "Sparknotes" because it's faster than reading the actual book. We post Instagrams and Facebook albums because they're faster than developing a picture and making and actual album. We post "Snapchat stories" because it's faster than Instagram and Facebook.

We drink diet shakes and "diet teas" because they're faster than actually dieting. We grab fast-food and pre-made meals because it's faster than cooking our meal. We stream music and download iTunes because it's faster than driving and buying the album. We watch Netflix and illegally download shows because they're faster than watching for the show to actually play on TV.

We abbreviate words (lyk brb c u l8r) because it's (apparently) faster than typing out the actual word. We take notes on a laptop because it's quicker to type than write what someone is saying. We online shop because it's quicker than going on an actual shopping trip. We've even created a faster way to brew coffee (Keurig anyone)?


And yet...


We still complain that we don't have time for our friends. We still complain that we don't have time to visit home, or talk to our parents. We still complain that we don't have time for the gym, that we didn't have time to study for that test. We still bail on events last minute because we're "too busy," we're late to work because we didn't have "enough time" that morning.

We still complain that we don't have time to go to church on Sundays- that we don't have time to "just relax." We still complain that life "moves too fast," and will often voice that opinion through social media.



But...

All the shortcuts I mentioned in the above paragraph were primarily created in the past decade, and all boast that they make our lives less burdensome- that they are faster, that they keep us more "connected" in a shorter amount of time than our predecessors. Yet, does anyone in our generation actually feel like we have more time? For the majority of us, no- we still feel rushed, we still feel like parts of our lives lack attention.

So...

Where did all the time go? Why do we "not" have time to visit with our parents, to study for that test, to hang out with our friends? Why do we "not" have time to exercise, to explore our community, to create hobbies?



Because...

Because those exact things that are disguised as making our lives quicker actually make them more cumbersome. We don't just post a photo on Instagram- we incessantly check for our "like" count, and we "like" our "friends" posts as well. We don't shoot a text message- we spend time before hitting send, making sure it's exactly the words we want to convey our message. We don't just post a status on Facebook- we spend hours "stalking" our "friends'" profiles, comparing our current lives with the seemingly more exciting lives of theirs. This list can go on and on.


So my question to you is- where does all your time go? Is that minute you "save" really worth it, when you cut out other activities for it?