We live in an era where anybody with an internet connection can
- switch to an entirely new profession
- learn a foreign language in record time
- access the best university degrees in the world
- become world-class chefs in cuisines of their choice
- coach themselves to become Olympic athletes
And all of this is available for free, in their spare time.
Now there is tremendous joy and meaning in growing, learning and developing one’s self. Yet, why are most of those fantastic online resources underutlized? Wen the promised land has arrived, why do we not see people queuing up to use it?
To answer this question, think of what most people do with their spare time. The rise of the internet has also given us ubiquitous and unbridled access to entertainment. We now have
- a little, addictive dopamine factory that fits right into our pocket
- unlimited video streaming on demand
- social media, to hack into all our social cravings
- podcasts that entertain us as we wait in supermarket check-out lines
- 24×7 news and live sporting events
- internet pornography
- online gaming
For every great opportunity that the online world gives us to learn, create and develop ourselves, it spawns several more appealing portals into empty worlds of entertainment.
We have handed the strings to our leisure to the online entertainment industry. Once we have done that, it is little wonder that we aren’t queuing up for the good stuff.