The Free Press

But though the speed of computer processing power can be measured quantitatively, the transformations in a culture’s tolerance for delay are qualitative. It is only when we step back—or, more likely, when we are forced into a situation where we must wait without distraction—that we are reminded of other ways of doing things.

Hence why, perhaps, researchers have linked the increase in Americans’ impatience to the rise in both obesity and debt, as well as the decline in savings, and the increase in gambling. We, as a society, are losing our ability to delay gratification, to patiently plan ahead. We value the new and the now, which is having a disturbing impact on—among other things—the realm of public discourse. In the media, we have come to prefer reaction to deliberation. We respect expertise less, because it takes time to develop and mature. In a culture used to immediate, brief responses, considered responses are often drowned out by a chorus of louder, less-informed voices.

Patience is a virtue. Good things come to those who wait. These phrases are cliché, but the evidence suggests they’re true. We benefit from appreciating that the most important things in life take time. From accepting that waiting is inescapable, no matter how much technology views it as a problem to be solved