Ever heard of the “Marshmallow Test?”
No, it’s not a s’mores-eating competition (though that might be nice). It’s an experiment that researcher Walter Mischel conducted in the late 1960’s. He gave marshmallows to 4-year-olds, promising them more marshmallows if they could resist eating the first one for 15 minutes. In a nutshell, he found that those who could resist did better in life than those who could not because they had more self-discipline.
Christian Science Monitor writer Mel Layos recently compared Facebook to those marshmallows, saying that most of its users—adults included—find the site is even sweeter and harder to resist. He says even he couldn’t refrain from checking his Facebook page while writing the article:
I’m not alone with this struggle. Comb through any random Facebook page and you’ll find people around the world updating statuses from their offices, from classrooms, even from behind the wheel. The deferred rewards of keeping one’s job, learning arithmetic, or even staying alive are no match for the compound-worded monster.
So, I’m curious. How many of you are in the same boat as Layos? Do you update your statuses while at work? Multiple times per day?
Is Layos right in saying that Facebook—and perhaps any such form of technology—is fostering a “temptation generation” and a “right now” culture that cannot delay gratification? And, if so, how do you navigate a world that seems obsessed with it?
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