Generation Impatient

We’re an impatient lot. So much so that Cosmo’s Joshua Joynes couldn’t wait for the bus to get to work… he took an Uber. But don’t stress, we’ve cracked the patience code so you can wait in peace

- Joshua Joynes

BETWEEN LEARNING how to tie our shoelaces and being a nice person, growing up, we’re bombarded with a barrage of life lessons. I’d like to think after 24 years I can successfully tie my laces and that I’ve evolved into a pretty decent human being. That said, when it comes to patience, I seem to be lacking. Being on hold, standing in a queue or waiting for a delivery gets me really worked up (I’m talking low-key raging). After being called out for it by a few friends recently, I got thinking. Was I a by-product of my impatient generation, or had I failed to pick up on the art of patience growing up?

I can distinctively remember as a kid avoiding sleep the night before Christmas Day or torturing my parents with ‘Are we there yet?’ all the way to our holiday destination. I like to think they’re examples of fairly reasonable childish behaviour, but somewhere between adolescence and pretending to adult, I never stopped acting this way. I just traded Christmas Day for combusting while I wait on ASOS orders, and holiday angst turned into pulling my hair out waiting for Riverdale finales. I’m undeniably impatient, but I’m not alone, according to Lysn psychologist Michelle Pal, who says there’s a growing epidemic.

Tech to blame?