Are we becoming more lazy?

[Rosie]

I can see it being a little of both: Instant gratification, I am reminded of Homer Simpson not wanting to wait forty seconds to flash-fry a buffalo, and laziness. I have watched people drive around a parking lot for five minutes to get a space 20 feet closer, then walk 10 feet out of the way to use the automatic door.

lol Now that's funny.

 

[Zach R.]

We might be lazier, but not for any of the reasons mentioned in this thread as of yet.

 

[Lady Day]

And unhealthier as a result.
Food additives like the ubiquitous hydrogenated oils you see in the list of ingredients in so-called convenience foods are some of the worst things we could possibly consume,...yet they're so danged easy! http://www.bantransfats.com/abouttransfat.html
(I would rather eat SPAM)

It cost more in general to get foods without the 'extras'. Why, because they are so widly used, that it takes more effort not to add them. Isnt that a form of being lazy?

I cant get over how expensive eating healthy is. Not meaning organic really, but just fresh fruits and green veggies and the daily allotment that you are suposta have are so through the roof in groceries, that why not just trust all of your vitamins and good stuff to a neon pink liquid that says it has them all and is only ninty cents?

THATS lazy.

LD

 

[Twitch]

Rosie I know we're getting lazier but the frank/bun and pnutbutter & jelly already mixed are simply marketing gimmicks in my eyes. And there is SO much of that it is hard to account for.

 

[Haversack]

Many years ago I remember reading a history of the H. J. Heinz company. When Mr. Heinz bottled his very first batch of piccilili relish in the 1850s in Pittsburgh and had it all sold within a week, he realized that the convenience of store-bought condiments over home-made would make his fortune. He never looked back. His spiritual descendents are continuing this discovery reducio ad absurdum.

Haversack.

 

[Girl Friday]

I think lazy is subjective. I keep saying I am lazy because I don't read, I listen to audio books. The truth is if I start reading I fall asleep...probably because I get up at 5:30 AM to go to the gym.

I don't cook in the summer, because it is 100 degrees outside, and about 82 inside, I really don't want to turn on the stove or the washer and definitely not the dryer!

I will run a 5k or a half marathon, but I always want to park as close as possible to where ever I am going...

I think lazy is okay, too many people forget to slow down and relax...have a drink.

 

[Zach R.]

Rosie I know we're getting lazier but the frank/bun and pnutbutter & jelly already mixed are simply marketing gimmicks in my eyes. And there is SO much of that it is hard to account for.

Exactly.

Also, to play off Haversack's point, am I lazy because instead of churning my own butter I buy by the stick? Am I lazy because instead of using a stove and boiling my own macaroni on a stove I zap an Easy-Mac pack during the twenty minutes I have for my lunch between classes? As it has been said, lazy is subjective and it is certainly not the same thing as "less time-consuming"

 

[Rosie]

Twitch and Zach R., you fellas make really good points. I don't think I intended it to be a "We're all lazy and this will be the downfall of our society" type thing. More like Pledge Ready Wipes and Frank/Bun combinations are really pushing it.

Certainly I would never call someone like GirlFriday lazy because she chooses not to cook for the summer, she's running 5Ks which certainly isn't lazy and though I will cook during the summer and read books, I'm NOT going to run 5 anything anytime soon. lol

Okay so instead of Are we becoming more lazy (or lazier for Marc) how about:

Is life becoming a little too convenient? And, are all of these conveniences really necessary?

 

[Viola]

Twitch and Zach R., you fellas make really good points. I don't think I intended it to be a "We're all lazy and this will be the downfall of our society" type thing. More like Pledge Ready Wipes and Frank/Bun combinations are really pushing it.

Certainly I would never call someone like GirlFriday lazy because she chooses not to cook for the summer, she's running 5Ks which certainly isn't lazy and though I will cook during the summer and read books, I'm NOT going to run 5 anything anytime soon. lol

Okay so instead of Are we becoming more lazy (or lazier for Marc) how about:

Is life becoming a little too convenient? And, are all of these conveniences really necessary?

I think its all about the downsides (nutrition, for example) plus how much time you actually save. Slicing a piece of cheese takes maybe 30 seconds, so Kraft isn't doing me any big favor by wrapping orange...cheeselike substance...in plastic.

But on the other hand, I'm not going to buy a Holstein and make my own cheddar.

 

[Lady Day]

Twitch and Zach R., you fellas make really good points. I don't think I intended it to be a "We're all lazy and this will be the downfall of our society" type thing. More like Pledge Ready Wipes and Frank/Bun combinations are really pushing it.

Certainly I would never call someone like GirlFriday lazy because she chooses not to cook for the summer, she's running 5Ks which certainly isn't lazy and though I will cook during the summer and read books, I'm NOT going to run 5 anything anytime soon. lol

Okay so instead of Are we becoming more lazy (or lazier for Marc) how about:

Is life becoming a little too convenient? And, are all of these conveniences really necessary?

I think its misdirected effort. To drive for X minutes to get a closer spot, you have to put into account the extra cost of that, and then now much more you are going to work in order to make up that cost of being 20 feet closer. So no, I guess that is not being lazy.

I think the line gets crossed when people think more bout how not to do something, or avoiding doing something than doing it. Like if a bus does not drop you off IN FRONT of your stop, instead its 10 ft up the block. Does it really take that much more effort to just walk that extra few feet? Or to boil your own water, or to wash your own veggies. Or to iron your own clothing?

I think when convience becomes hand holding, then its lazy.

LD

 

[Novella]

He should have used the phone to call himself a waahmbulance! lol

lol

Eating healthy is definitely expensive. I was just reading a magazine yesterday that had two pages full of really yummy sounding healthy recipes, but the ingredients required to make all the meals would end up costing a lot.

I think that people on the whole have the option to be lazy now that there are so many shortcuts available. When I want to wash up I just turn the shower on, I don't have to split the wood to heat the water to pour into a tub to get clean. I love time saving things, but there is definitely a balance to keep between using conveniences to your advantage, and then using conveniences as enablers to laziness. Microwave food is great when you've had a rough day at work or only a short time window to eat. It opens up a wider food menu and introduces more variety. Conveniences aren't necessary because people got along fine without them (and still do in many places of the world), but I think they are a nice addition to the choices that are available in today's world and are a reflection of ingenuity, even if a lot of them are gimmicky. I don't think life is too convenient. In a lot of ways new conveniences introduce new inconveniences.

 

[CharlieH.]

When it comes to "conveniences", I can only say enough is too much. I can't remember where, but I once saw a drive through convenience store. It really peeved me that people want -sorry- demand to have their comestibles delivered through the car window instead of getting off the car and into the store. I'll never understand this modern world of our -sorry- theirs.

And by the way, if you think peanut butter and jelly in the same jar is nuts, take a look at this nugget:

http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/hoax/weblog/comments/3652/

Next thing you know, food won't be coming in packaging of any sort. Why waste time opening a bag when you can eat NOW?

 

[Rosie]

http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/hoax/weblog/comments/3652/

Wow, that's *almost* funny, if it weren't weird and sad. I forgot about those premade pb&j sandwich pouch things. Another thing to add to the laziness list. lol

 

[Fleur De Guerre]

I think my stinginess sometimes outranks my laziness. I hate exercise as a general rule (except yoga) but I also begrudge paying money for parking and unnecessary transport. I would rather park a mile out of town and walk than shell out pounds on town centre parking. And I always walk a mile to work and back saving myself a fortune on train fares. But I do enjoy the convenience of my car and drive other short distances in it instead of walking when perhaps I should. Double standards perhaps! [huh]

 

[Paisley]

I had a calculus teacher who said that good mathematicians are basically lazy. Meaning, they don't make extra work for themselves. I think this is a good philosophy in some cases:

I hated mowing the lawn. Instead of forcing myself to do it, I replaced it with flowers and bushes that are not only less work, but take a lot less water and fertilizer.

I'm too lazy to take up skiing, sailing, surfing, and quite a few other things that sound interesting, but expensive, exhausting and time consuming. I go to dance classes close to home or work instead. Think of all the money I've saved and all the guys who've enjoyed our dances.

Instead of taking a college class, I check out a book from the library. That usually satisfies my curiosity, and I don't have to pay for tuition, fees, books, and then trudge through the cold and dark at the beginning or end of the semester.

Finally, I'm too lazy to look for a husband. Not many men strike a chord with me. I'd rather do things I enjoy than hang out at bars or the gym trying to find that one in a million. It's just as well. The people who know me best (my mother and brother) say I'd be really unhappy if I were married. It's all good.

 

[Twitch]

I have a pet peeve that others may agree with or find amusing anyhow. On the subject of "conviences" I simply hate:rage: plastic squeeze bottles of ketchup, mustard, mayo or any condiments. 1st, if you don't store them with the cap down you get this air space and diluted, watery liquid residue that has to be expelled before actual product emerges. If you do store it upside down as soon as you open the top too much product often flies out due to pressure and gravity.

And finally, these plastic squeezers never empty completely. If you aren't wasteful, like most Loungers aren't, you stick a knife in to get the remaining stuff out. In that respect they are no advantage over the old glass bottles.

 

[Section10]

I'm with you, Twitch. I hate plastic containers; particularly for food. It's getting harder & harder to avoid them, though.
I don't think people are much lazier. It's just their busy time is spent in other ways besides tending to the basics of living. I certainly think people could have a lot more slack time if they chose to, but it seems in spite of all the time savers people are just as busy as they ever were. Of course a lot of that busyness is by choice and not really necessary. I know people who are forever running their kids or themselves to every imaginable activity and have no time to catch their breath in a day. I don't see how backing off on some of this invented work is a sign of laziness. I think people have forgotten how to live with themselves. To turn off all outside chatter and be alone with one's thoughts must scare most people, since they spend so much time avoiding just that.

 

[imoldfashioned]

The item that makes me groan...

I understand buying pre-made cookie dough (although it doesn't take that long to mix up a batch) but the fact that you can buy pre-made dough already portioned into cookie sized chunks just baffles me. People don't have the time/inclination to just cut the tube of pre-made dough into pieces themselves? I'm all for convenience, but that just seems crazy to me.

To address the other portion of the question, I think many people have less time than they used to have and the marketers are trying to make hay out of that fact.

I also think another issue is that a lot of skills weren't handed down. My mother never taught me to bake or cook--if I hadn't taken the initiative myself I'd still think that you didn't need cheese to make macaroni and cheese because it comes in the box. I have lots of friends who don't realize it takes about 5 minutes to mix up a batch of cookie dough that tastes better and is cheaper than the pre-made stuff.

 

[Paisley]

I have a pet peeve that others may agree with or find amusing anyhow. On the subject of "conviences" I simply hate:rage: plastic squeeze bottles of ketchup, mustard, mayo or any condiments.

Really? I think it's easier to get the stuff out of the plastic containers, especially the short mayo jars with the rounded ends. With the traditional jars, I end up getting mayo on my fingers when it gets to the bottom. As for ketchup and mustard, I find that shaking and squeezing gets the stuff out without having to dirty a knife.

 

[Paisley]

lol

Eating healthy is definitely expensive. I was just reading a magazine yesterday that had two pages full of really yummy sounding healthy recipes, but the ingredients required to make all the meals would end up costing a lot.

I think junk food is expensive. A pound of potato chips is what, $3 or $4, which is more than you'd pay for a 5# bag of potatoes on sale. Healthy food can be expensive, especially if you like things like sea bass and asparagus. I think if you stick to beans, lean meat on sale, a few condiments and spices, and pedestrian produce, it doesn't cost nearly as much as prepackaged food.