We live in a time where we have everything we need at our disposal at the touch of a button. But what is the true cost of convenience?
The world we live in today is the result of a number of cultural and economic shifts that have taken place over time. We’ve moved from an economy based on production to one driven by consumption, and our lives are structured around this shift.
The problem with this new way of living is that it has come at a cost – to ourselves, other people, and the environment.
In order to fix these issues, we need to slow down and consider what truly adds value to our lives rather than what makes it easier or more convenient for us.
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The quest for convenience is not without its costs. It has made us unhealthy, isolated and bored. It has eroded our relationships with those around us as we spend more time on the computer or in front of a TV screen than talking to friends and family.
In pursuit of convenience, many people are spending more and more money.
Yet what is the true cost?
In this article, I examine some of those hidden costs that may be affecting your life whether you realise it or not: from eating out regularly on a tight budget to skimping on quality products.
Table of Contents
What is Convenience Culture?
For most people, convenience simply means that an activity is easy to do. Many of us lead busy lives and work long hours. Anything that makes daily tasks easier or helps to save time is seen as a positive thing. Right?
Well, this is not always the case.
Convenience culture can be defined as the philosophy of outsourcing labour in pursuit of making daily living easier. It encourages the outsourcing of everyday tasks that were once considered to be part and parcel of life.
This has led to the creation of an entire industry dedicated to convenience – from ready meals in supermarkets, ordering toilet paper online with the click of a button, microwaves to speed up the cooking process, cleaning products for quick clean ups, smart phones to do almost anything, cheaper clothes made with inferior materials so they fall apart faster and so on.
The Convenience Consumer
In their pursuit of convenience, many people have become ‘consumerist’. They believe that what they own defines who they are.
They take pride in having the latest technology or owning the most fashionable clothes, but this is often based on a materialistic view of life – one where things are more important than people or experiences.
What is right is often forgotten by what is convenient.
Bodie Thoene
Moreover, many of these convenience products are designed to break down quickly so that they have to be replaced regularly, which encourages consumers to buy new even if the old ones still work perfectly fine.
One of the most recent examples is smart phones that are designed with regular updates to the operating system so they can be either ‘upgraded’ or ‘downgraded’. This ensures people have to purchase new products more frequently than they otherwise might.
Examples of Convenience Consumerism
- Buying a coffee at Starbucks rather than making your own coffee at home
- Stopping at the drive-thru for fast food on the way home from work instead of making dinner at home
- Buying pre-packaged/microwavable food rather than making from scratch
- Ordering more expensive products online with same day delivery rather than searching around for cheaper prices
- Paying more for services to come to your house rather than going to the salon (e.g. for a massage or hair cut or manicure)
The True Cost of Convenience
We all know that the convenience culture comes at a cost. Whether it’s in terms of your personal health and well-being, the environment, or your wallet.
Personal Consequences
The problem with convenience is that in most cases it comes at a cost to ourselves and others.
Outsourcing personal tasks does not always make people’s lives easier.
If you order takeout you may have to wait an hour for delivery when you could have made a quick meal in just 20 minutes. The same goes for waiting in line for your coffee at Starbucks, you could have made it quicker yourself!
Convenience is often more expensive in terms of cost per use than doing the activity yourself.
If you outsourced your lunch to a sandwich shop, for example, it would cost more than if you made it yourself. The same goes for many other activities such as buying takeaways or prepared food compared to cooking at home.
Environmental Consequences
Convenience culture is having an enormous impact on the environment.
Products are often made with cheaper, inferior materials to make them ‘disposable’. Whether it’s microwave meals or fast fashion clothing – many of these end up in landfills.
Read also: A Comprehensive List of Fast Fashion Brands to Avoid in 2021
In addition, these disposable and low-quality products often need to be replaced more frequently than high-quality items.
As a result, convenience culture increases the demand for resources and that means it has a negative impact on the environment.
Read also: 15 Ideas For Sustainable Living: Ultimate Beginners Guide
Economic Consequences
People following convenience culture also spend more money than they would otherwise because of its far-reaching effects on consumerism and planned obsolescence.
Read also: 36 Simple Frugal Life Hacks: How to Save $200 Each Month
Convenience encourages people to buy things they don’t really need and many of them end up stuck in drawers or cupboards, gathering dust instead of being used fully and for their entire lifespans.
The culture of disposability also has financial consequences because people end up buying things they would not normally buy – for example, buying coffee when you can make your own at home is an unnecessary expense.
Read also: 10 Ways to Achieve Financial Minimalism
Health consequences
The cost of convenience also comes about in terms of people’s health and well-being.
Disposable or pre-prepared foods often have higher levels of sugar and fat than healthier alternatives, with the typical Western diet linked to increased rates of obesity, diabetes and other long-term health problems.
The packaging that some convenience foods come in can also be harmful to the environment and people’s health.
People also have shorter attention spans as a result of being bombarded with information from social networking sites or emails – making concentration on work much more difficult than it used to be.
Read also: Disconnect to Reconnect: The Significance of a Digital Detox
Addiction consequences
Another example of the high cost of convenience comes from shopping addiction.
People who shop compulsively spend more money than they would otherwise, often buying things that are not needed or cannot be afforded, and getting into debt as a result.
They also spend less time doing other activities such as socialising which can lead to isolation.
Read also: How to stop shopping online for clothes you don’t need
Shopping addicts often feel that shopping is the only way they can get a ‘high’ or excitement.
Many people are encouraged to engage in shopping by retailers who create an artificial need for unnecessary products – particularly through discounting, multi-buy offers and vouchers.
The impulse to buy these things can become so strong that many people end up buying several items at a time, such as clothes or make-up which they don’t need and will never use.
Ways to reduce our reliance on convenience
There are simple ways that we can reduce our reliance on convenience culture and the high cost of living for a more fulfilling life.
Making your own lunch will not only save money but you get to pick out the ingredients so you know what you’re consuming. You also get to have more variety – one of the drawbacks of buying pre-made sandwiches is that they all tend to be pretty much the same.
Planning your own meals at home can also encourage people to cook healthier food as well as save money. Stop by the grocery store on the way home and cook a quick meal rather than picking up a takeaway.
If you’re interested, you’ll do what is convenient. If you’re committed, you’ll do whatever it takes.
john assaraf
Saying no to convenience offers from banks and phone companies can also be a good idea. Often these more convenient offers come with extra charges.
Remove your credit card details from online retailers so that it becomes more difficult to order items.
If people want to fight against the culture of convenience then shopping more consciously, avoiding impulse buys and looking for second-hand items are all things you can start doing.
Most of us know that the culture of convenience comes at a price – it’s now time to stop paying too much for things that are readily available.
Read also: Do the benefits of extreme minimalism outweigh the sacrifices?
Conclusion: The True Cost of Convenience
The cost of convenience affects us all in different ways
This has a knock-on effect on society because it leads to people buying unnecessary things which creates waste; we become dependent on manufactured products.
People follow the culture of convenience because they want to make their lives more convenient. But living too much by this has negative consequences on us and our society.
How do you feel about the convenience culture? Does it end up being more of an inconvenience in the long run? Has the cost of convenience impacted you in any way? Let me know in the comments.
This was such an interesting and thought provoking article! I have never really thought of the true cost of convenience before. It’s interesting to realise that some of the things we think make our life easier actually make it harder !
Julia x
This was s really interesting read. I nevee thought of it in terms of convenience but I understand that you have a very good point here. I used to be out of home for the most hours of every day which meant I would buy my coffee and breakfast, lunch and maybe a second coffee every day. It would be really convenient but I realized how much money I spent during lockdown. Getting back home late at night I would usually also order something to eat. If we forget about the money it was not healthy either. These last two years I have become more conscious of my choices in every aspect of my life. Convenient culture might be beneficial in some cases but it definitely has downsides.
It’s incredible how used to convenience we’ve all become and that it’s become a normal expectation for all the things we consume. It’s so far removed from how our grandparents lived that it’s both an advance and a disadvantage (for all the reasons you outlined). I try not to fall into using convenience all the time but it’s going to take some work — thanks for this vital information.
This was such an insightful read! I’m an absolute nightmare when it comes to takeaways, I always have at least one or two a week which can really add up. I also need to work on not impulsively buying so many things – I end up with so much random stuff! Thank you so much for sharing x
The rise in convenience is likely due to people just not having enough hours in the day. People can be stuck commuting 2-4 hours a day, work a full shift, and then have to look after the family, leaving no time for anything else unless they want to burn out. If we want to do away with convenience goods and services, then we need to address the work/life balance first
Yes, very true. I had a conversation the other day about when did it become normal to spend so long of your life working / travelling to work / dealing with more work emails when at home. When did it become ok for work to be THE most important thing in our lives.
Convenience is probably one of the main reasons people aren’t sustainble- and it’s certainly one of the reasons I often slip, and I’m not as sustainable as I should be! Thanks for sharing these ideas here, it really makes you think about your impact on our environment x
This is a brilliant post. I would reblog it but it won’t allow me. This is the message we need to promote!
Oh! I have no idea how to change the settings to allow it Jamie! But thank you for your kind words 🙂
Great post. I actually mentioned this topic in a blog post recently and said how convenience can be a blessing and a curse, which I think is absolutely true. Of course there are some things which have made our lives easier which have been amazing but not EVERYTHING needs to be so convenient and readily available.
A thought provoking post. I think the long lockdown here in Italy made me re-evaluate many things. Just as a small example, I started making our own bread, cakes, cookies etc and have saved a lot of money doing so – plus I know what ingredients have gone into them. So even though I could go back to popping out to buy bread every few days I have not done so. The thing about going out for bread is that it never stopped just at bread. I would always buy other things as well.
So true. Convenience tends to be more expensive.
A real thought-provoking post! I can definitely see both sides to convenience discussion. While I often choose against convenience, I also definitely enjoy an occasional Starbuck’s drink that brings me joy! Thanks for sharing this!
The approach to the topic is with a grain of salt by many. Regardless it is something to ponder and take action on. Hence the ills of society. Like the insights in it. Xx
Isa A. Blogger
I love this, “slow down… and add value to our lives”. What a refreshing post, and insightful. Thank you!!!
~Michelle
Thanks Michelle!
Thanks again for provoking us be thoughtful. Outsourcing is expensive! When we do things for ourselves we save money and reap a personal blessing and satisfaction from being a little more self reliant.