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So you think you have some of the good things in life. You’ve got a video tape recorder and a device that answers the phone for you. And there’s a gadget that turns on the lights when you’re out. Then there are all those goodies in the kitchen. How about the electric knife, the coffee maker, the ice maker
Feel good about having all that stuff or do you wonder whether the gadgets are running you instead of you running them
Americans apparently feel more hurried than ever these days. Part of the reason is trying to keep up with the demands on their time to purchase, store, service, repair, replace, and protect all those "time-saving" machines. Add to them the problems of the extra car and the bigger house. And there’s the RV parked on the side lawn. A fellow may, poor soul, feel just at wits end. "Americans are eating up their leisure time by overloading themselves with all kinds of gadgets. "So says one expert in marketing.
The downfall of lots of home is trying to keep up with all the things that go wrong. There’s the time spent to call repair people, Next we must wait for them to show up. Then there are the high hourly rates. These may force many people into poor do-it-yourself jobs. And costly tools often save little time because of the small scale of home repairs. Power-mowing most lawns takes as long as mowing by hand. It takes longer if you add the extra hours of work to keep the power mower in repair.
Likewise, "labour-saving" appliances may lighten the housework. But they save little time. Looking for the right electric knife or other new gadget and getting it ready for use often can take more time than doing the job by hand. Studies show we spend even more time on laundry than our grandparents did. That’s because we have more clothes and wash them more often. Vacuum cleaners have raised standards of cleanliness. But they tempt people to spend more time than with a broom or dust rag.
Cars are another time gobbler. One expert says that tires and batteries last longer than they used to, But US cars are more prone to break down than they were. Plus, there are more gadgets on them to go wrong. The growing complexity of the car means most owners can no longer play with a screwdriver and wrench under the hood to fix things themselves.
Another problem we face more and more is dealing with computer in place of people. Impersonal, cold, and error-prone machines are replacing clerks. So to fix errors in bills and other problems with a product or service often is a slow and maddening process.
Recreation has changed from the simple pleasures that take time. We don’t read, stroll, and visit with friends much now. We’re on to complicated, costly things. But to own RVs, backyard swimming pools, and vacation homes is a mixed blessing. Not only do people work more hours to pay for such costly toys, but they have less free time to enjoy them. And repair chews up a lot more time than they bargained for. What’s more, many such playthings are not even relaxing. "Buying a video game sounds like fun. But it really is work, "says Ernest Dichter, a marketing expert.
The number of video games and other free time objects grows. And the pressure of choice joins in, Just to choose a free time activity from all the options taxes many people.
And as people crowd their lives with things that eat up so much of their time, they come to feel that time is short. They feel they are in danger of wasting it.
In the end, then, the possessions we consume end up consuming us.
Which is NOT mentioned in the passage