What we’ve lost in our convenience.
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Nestled in a quaint Welsh valley lies a UNESCO world heritage site that helped fuel and build the Industrial Revolution.
At its peak, Blaenavon iron works and the surrounding area were among the worlds largest iron and coal producing regions.
As the gravel crunched under my feet in the old work yard and the floorboards creaked in the old worker cottages, my mind started to think about the many men, women and children who lived, worked and died there.
What was life like for them?
So many of the comforts, rights, and privileges so readily taken for granted by us were not afforded to them. They worked terribly long hours in conditions unknown to most in western culture today, then came home to houses significantly smaller than ours that lacked the modern necessities common to households today.
But as I read the plaques around this historical site, I felt that something I believe they knew that perhaps we have forgotten in our era of digital isolation and convenience was the importance of community and unity.
For all of our ‘progress’ we seem to have lost what it means to belong and feel connected to others. Identities are being erased, neighborhoods are becoming nothing more than a group of lifeless houses where the people inside know little if anything of the people on their street.
In Britain many of the pubs that once were community centers are closing because we’d rather drink at home, alone, or with like-minded others in our little echo chambers.
Cinemas where once we’d gather and enjoy movies and rub shoulders with strangers and friends has given way to isolated binge watching.
Rather than endure a polite conversation with a store employee, we now prefer a box to be dropped on our doorstep or to just click and collect.
We seem to be erasing every single touch point for human interaction. Even fast food chains are installing self-order kiosks where now the only interaction occurs when my number is called.
Banks also increasingly shutter their windows and tell us to, “use the app”.
Life today seems to be much more convenient than it was for those Welsh iron workers, but that convenience has come at the cost of community and connection.
Connection isn’t just a good idea, it is essential for us to be happy and healthy human beings. So perhaps it’s time we started to inconvenience ourselves a little and start rebuilding connection and community with the people living on our street, our town and maybe even our own families.
