Last update: October 21, 2017
To date we can say that we have broken down the barriers of difficulties, but that we have passed to a standardization of superficiality. Human beings have always needed to simplify things to achieve their goals or projects. The wheel, for example, made it possible to transport large loads from one place to another. Much of the history of humanity has been based on the struggle for the simplification of processes. The downside to this struggle is that it has created an army of easy-going people.
First there was the industrial revolution, then the IT revolution. The two phenomena have simplified and speeded up people's daily lives. In other words, they have minimized the effort required to accomplish various activities that would require more energy and more time. For example, information. Word of mouth has been replaced by the press, now the information arrives in real time thanks to internalst.
It would be worth asking whether all of this really makes our life easier. Perhaps it is more correct to say that now our existence is faster and requires less energy from a physical point of view, but it has become extremely complicated to the point that the incidence of mental illness is also increasing. At the same time, superficiality or carelessness has arisen as a means of addressing this complexity.
From ease to superficiality
The purpose of industrialization and information technology has not really been to make life easier for human beings. The goal was to speed up and simplify production, but it also extended to everyday life. Much of this progress finds its explanation in the concept of money rather than in that of well-being.
However, what is certain is that the principle that everything should work easier has infiltrated us in several ways. The worst way is that which makes us believe that "easy" and "fast" are desirable adjectives. On the contrary, "slow" and "difficult" are seen as flaws. Superficiality finds its foundation in this way of thinking.
In their most positive expression, science and technology have relieved us from performing mechanical or brute force tasks. Simplifying certain activities, such as doing laundry quickly or carrying very heavy objects with greater comfort, would mean having more free time to dedicate ourselves to the things we like most and that satisfy us. This purpose, however, has not been realized or, rather, it has been realized in part and only for a few. Rather, an attitude of contempt towards effort, towards fatigue, has spread.
Carelessness and dignity
A false ideal has been constructed, that of eliminating problems. The idea has spread that there is nothing positive in problems and, even worse, that there really is a life without difficulties, a world without obstacles..
Some believe it to the point of stressing because the day never comes when the problems go away. The paradox is that never before have we felt that we have to face so many problems. Almost everything has become difficult. Eat a little or a lot. To have a job or not. Being in a relationship or not. And the list is very long.
From a psychological point of view, carelessness can have two sides. On the one hand, it is a defensive response to what is perceived as a set of unsolvable problems. On the other hand, it could be a childish attitude, then we want to remain in a position that does not require compromise, effort or responsibility, just like when we are a child.
Taking such a position means not accepting that reality and difficulties go hand in hand. The truth, in fact, is that it is the difficulties that allow us and the whole of humanity to seek, find, evolve. The invention of fire was also a response to solving a problem. Once solved, the foundations have been created to proceed in evolution with homo sapiens.
In general, the tendency to consider everything easy only accentuates and aggravates the problems. It deprives us of the opportunity to test ourselves, to measure ourselves and to increase confidence in our abilities.
Such an attitude prevents us from enjoying one of the most beautiful things in life, which is the pride of being who we are, what we have and what we are able to do. There are certainly difficulties that are almost impossible to solve, such as world hunger, but many others are solvable. What is missing is self-confidence, self-love, or both.
