Novelty and the Norm

It seems that there is always something on the horizon in our lives that isn’t quite within our grasps, but it sure would desirable to have it. Whether it’s the latest new phone/computer/MP3/game system, the newest car/minivan/SUV/pickup truck, the next book or movie in a popular series, or anything else that rings novel to us, obtaining it seems so important at first. But our nature as humans is such that we instinctively and unconsciously adapt ourselves to things that enter our lives and linger. We take whatever around us that is unusual and, without thinking, accustom ourselves to it to the point where it is no longer a novelty, but rather has become the norm. While this human trait carries with it survival value for us, it also presents a dilemma that many of us apparently do not and, perhaps, will never understand.

Do you remember as a child going shopping with your family and seeing a toy somewhere that was so new, so different, that you absolutely had to have it? Even to the point when, long after you’ve left the store, you would dwell in your thoughts on how much you wanted it? And then, behold, on your birthday or at a holiday like Christmas, there it was, yours at last! And do you also remember playing with it a while until, after the novelty wore off, you lost interest and put it away, rarely to be seen again? Well, as children, this sort of infatuation with the new is common, but it lasts throughout our lives as well. Just look at all those people who lined up recently to purchase the new iPhone. But as adults, we get quickly accustomed and finally jaded to technology that will seem obsolete within five years. Every new computer model seems to have more new bells and whistles to make it the “next big thing”. I remember thinking how cool it was in 1988 to have my own personal computer that I could run programs and store information on 3½ inch diskettes. What a relic that machine is now!

So this quick ability to adapt to the new can inadvertently create a sense of restlessness in society. Doesn’t it seem that, with each new product that quickens things for us, people end up just becoming more impatient? There may be a microwave to quickly cook our food, but it’s a drag if we have to wait our turn to use it!

Conversely, humans have the capacity to adapt to adversities as well, even to the point of tolerating situations that would normally seem completely intolerable. I am always amazed when I read something or watch a show about how the European Jews who, having to live under Nazi domination and horrible persecution during World War II, living under excruciatingly deplorable conditions in ghettos or, worse, concentration camps, nevertheless would have their own daily routines and patterns. This, on one hand, helped them to survive through their ordeal, but on the other hand gave a perverse sense of normality to their wretched treatment. And speaking of wretched, who at one time or another hasn’t heard of a home being discovered whose owner lived surrounded by scores of emaciated animals living in unbelievable filth and stench? In a case like that, it may have just started out with one or two dogs or cats, and through progressive negligence, the owner just got used to the situation and never really consciously noticed the deteriorating living conditions.

So, being able to adapt to the new is both a blessing and a curse. Like any tool, it can be used or abused. Part of growing into adulthood involves learning to be able to discern the limits to which a principle may apply, and to beware of situations that may call for different lines of action. Doing things solely for the sake of novelty just desensitizes people to novelty. Doing things solely for maintaining the norm just desensitizes people to what the norm really is. Better to learn to abide by more meaningful guidelines when making decisions, don’t you think?