Wanted: Instant Gratification

Nowadays, teenagers are no longer interested in clubs and societies.
I've seen that decline starting from my juniors. Before that, students
were genuinely "into it". Joining a club was a privilage, a statement
of how involved a person is in the community.

Unfortunately, those days are long gone.

As I've expected, my Buddhist Society president told me that club
memberships are going down. Major societies such as Leo Club are
desperate for fresh blood, and are racing against each other to find
potential "up-and-comers". Why? Why is this happening? For religious
bodies like us and the Christian Fellowship, the problem is even
worse.

I've done an article on this before. But as I reflect
back, I think I've narrowed down the problem - the yearning for
instant gratification.

In the age of the Internet where everything is a Google search away,
people are conditioned to expect everything to be had instantly. Need
a pizza? Call Pizza Hut. Need money? Call Dad. Need porn? Go online.

Thus, anything that doesn't reap instant fruits is considered useless.
And it so happens that joining societies belong under "Long Term
Commitments". To make matters worse for them, all the benefits they'll
get are intangible.

"I get to learn leadership skills, you say? Bah! I'll just buy a book by Ken Blanchard."

Therein, I feel, lies our problem. Even our sales pitches are starting
to gear towards promoting what members can get NOW, not so much on the
activities that we'll carry out.

All this is very sad, especially considering that the Law of Karma
does not always go into effect this very life. People who do not
appreciate it say, "I see bad people get good, and good people get
bad, so why care about conscience?" As long as this trend continues,
people will make decisions based only on short-term effects.

A very worrying trend indeed.