Has Convenience Become a Problem?
It wasn’t that long ago that manual labor was how humans spent their days – men hunting or working on farms or in factories, women in more traditional roles but physically demanding nonetheless. There were very few labor-saving devices.
Most people will likely agree that indoor plumbing, electricity and the telephone were much appreciated inventions, but does our increased focus on convenience since the 1950s have a downside?
Certainly, planetary health has suffered since single-use plastics and other “use it once and throw it away” products were introduced shortly after the end of World War II. Plastic production has grown from a "mere" two million tonnes (2,204 pounds x 2,000,000) to over 450 million tonnes today (2,204 pounds x 450,000,000). This exponential growth has created an avalanche of plastic pollution.
Consumers were misled from the very beginning by plastic manufacturers who touted plastic recycling as a profitable approach to the plastic pollution problem. Plastics were never designed to be recycled. In 1956, Lloyd Stouffer, editor of Modern Packaging, stated, “The future of plastics is in the trash can,” a tactic that ensures repeat purchases.
But it is not just the health of the planet that is suffering from our current obsession with convenience and comfort. It is the health of its inhabitants, too. Not only have microplastics and nanoplastics invaded every organ of the human body, but virtually every area of our life is focused on making things easier.
Life today looks very different than it did in the 1950s. It doesn’t take much planning to be able to handle the family’s banking needs, pick up groceries and a fast-food meal without having to exit the car. An entire evening can be spent in front of the television without having to leave the comfort of a recliner to change channels. Microwaves make it possible to prepare a packaged meal with the touch of a button. Moving walkways and elevators mean we can reach our destination without any exertion. With AI, we don’t even have to think any more! It will answer our questions, improve our emails and write our papers. Convenient, yes. But healthy? Likely not.
Has our lust for convenience and ease contributed to our declining health span, lower life span compared to other countries, increasing anxiety and depression, and general boredom and unhappiness? In his book, The Comfort Crisis, author Michael Easter says, “We are living progressively sheltered, sterile, temperature-controlled, overfed, underchallenged, safety-netted lives.”
Human biologist Gary Brecka puts it this way, “Human beings have pursued comfort to such an aggressive extent that in the United States, we’re now the sickest, fattest, most disease-ridden nation in the world.”
Our ancestors faced hardship and challenges on a daily basis. Our trajectory over the last several decades has been to minimize discomfort. Jack Dorsey, co-founder and ex-CEO of Twitter, chooses to live his life with intentional inconvenience because challenges promote problem-solving and expand skill levels. The frustration a person feels when attempting to learn something new or do a difficult task is what prompts the neurological circuits in our brain to change. Dorsey regularly walks five miles to work, meditates for two hours, and simplifies his meal planning with a single high-protein meal each day.
Many health trends like running and strength training, saunas and cold plunges, and fasting or time-restricted eating are simply simulating the discomfort of years past as a tool for better health because our modern lifestyle does not typically include adequate physical challenges.
The next time you are tempted to embrace convenience, resist … and do what used to come naturally to humans! Improve your mental and physical health by parking at the end of the lot and walking to your destination. Spend time in nature. Breathe fresh air. Take the dog for a walk. Tend a garden. Learn a new skill. Cook real food. Bypass the elevator and take the stairs. Sit in silence. Tackle a difficult project. Move your body. Time spent in nature is healing and may inspire you to improve planetary health at the same time by eliminating single-use plastic and toxic chemicals from your life.
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