Is life really better today than it was a few decades ago?
During our university days, all first-year students had to take some general courses regardless of their background. One of these was Introduction to Communications, COM 100. We had a group project that had to be submitted on a floppy disk. For those who may not know, a floppy disk was once considered prestigious to own. Our group worked hard, and our top students typed the project and saved it on the floppy disk.
On the day of the presentation, our main guy opened the floppy on a desktop computer, only for us to find a few zeros where our project had been. We had encountered a computer virus for the very first time. The lecturer required us to redo the entire semester’s project within three days. For those who may have wondered why I never got first-class honors, now you know a computer virus played its part in my downfall.
Soon after, compact disks (CDs) replaced floppy disks. Viruses struggled to infiltrate CDs until flash disks became common and the word “Trojan” spelled doom if seen in a flashdisk.
Back then, comrades who owned software to burn CDs were in higher demand than supermarket supervisors with access cards to override checkout counters. Listening to music on a three-disc changer felt heavenly in a way YouTube or Spotify has never quite matched. Even waiting to hear a favorite song replayed on the radio so we could write down the lyrics felt more fulfilling than instantly pulling them up online today.
The Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC), with its carefully selected programs, seemed to offer richer entertainment than the countless FM and internet stations we now have. Adjusting the radio knob to find the perfect frequency required precision that could rival a vernier caliper.
I have been wondering whether life loses its sense of fulfillment as it becomes easier. Should everything really be simplified? There is a depth that comes with combing through thousands of book pages for a single definition, a depth that feels absent when typing a phrase into a search engine. For people of faith, even the discipline of memorizing scripture is fading away in this age of instant access.
Perhaps time was never really the issue. Maybe some things were never meant to be made easy. I sometimes imagine a kind of living museum where people could pay to experience life in its raw and rigorous form. I am calling for handwritten proposals, thoughtfully based on lived experiences and real knowledge on how such a museum could recreate authentic experiences of the past. AI or search engines content will not be admitted.
At the same time, I so much appreciate the convenience of modern life. Without smartphones, the internet, and emerging technologies like Web 3, I would not even be able to share this story with you or receive a photo of your handwritten proposal which you are about to post on the comments section.
When I think about this subject and how things have evolved, the Uses and Gratifications Theory (UGT) comes to mind. Originally developed by Katz, Blumler, and Gurevitch in the 1970s, UGT explains how individuals actively seek out media to satisfy specific needs (Katz, Blumler, & Gurevitch, 1973).
The key elements of the theory include:
- Active audience, meaning people are not passive consumers but choose media based on personal needs.
- Media as tools, where different media compete with other sources such as books, conversations, and activities for satisfaction.
- Needs gratified, including cognitive needs such as knowledge and information, affective needs such as emotions and pleasure, personal identity, social integration, and escapism.
- Shift over time, where the way media gratify needs evolves as technology advances.
My experience with technological changes reflects this shift in gratification across generations. Floppy disks, CD changers, radio tuning, and handwritten lyrics created deeper engagement and a stronger sense of fulfillment. Today, smartphones, Spotify, and search engines provide instant access, but the rewards sometimes feel less personal and more fleeting. According to UGT, audiences adapt to new technologies, but the quality of gratification changes. It can feel less rigorous, less meaningful, and more transient.
On the other hand, Marshall McLuhan’s Technological Determinism offers a different perspective. McLuhan argued that technology itself shapes how society thinks, behaves, and relates to reality. His famous phrase “the medium is the message” suggests that the form of technology matters more than the content it delivers (McLuhan, 1964). In this view, floppy disks, CDs, radios, and smartphones are not just tools we use to satisfy our needs. They actively change how we perceive the world and how we define fulfillment.
If we apply Technological Determinism, then the sense of depth and satisfaction I felt in the past was not just about effort. It was also shaped by the nature of the medium itself. Handwritten lyrics, tuning a radio knob, or listening on a three-disc changer created forms of interaction that technology today has transformed. In this way, McLuhan would say it is not me choosing media for gratification, but media shaping my experience of reality.
Both theories still do not solve my dilemma. Uses and Gratifications emphasizes personal choice and shifting needs, while Technological Determinism demand that technology itself structures how those choices are even possible.
What do you think?
References
Katz, E., Blumler, J. G., & Gurevitch, M. (1973). Uses and gratifications research. Public Opinion Quarterly, 37(4), 509–523. https://doi.org/10.1086/268109
McLuhan, M. (1964). Understanding media: The extensions of man. McGraw-Hill.