Choose a record, pick a person
Recently I've been reflecting on the old adage 'less is more' and the weight that it carries. We are living in a time when we have so many CHOICES and so many OPTIONS at all times. It's the future, but does it actually make us happy?
We have everything available at our fingertips from dating apps to streaming just about any song we want to hear.
We can choose from hundreds of thousands of songs on our portable devices. We can pick a person that is pleasing to the eye on tiny screens. In the same amount of time we can dismiss them.
The other night I set up my record player and asked people that were over at my apartment to pick a record, and something happened:
We TALKED about the music.
We DOVE into the artists backgrounds.
We TOUCHED the album art.
Everyone was ENGAGED.
It was a fleeting moment where we momentarily lived in a different time. Nobody was looking at their phones, everyone was present.
Each visitor was genuinely excited to hear their selection when it played. Because they picked it from a pile of 30 tangible records, rather than having millions of options in the form of pixels at their fingertips.
At the end of the day, we don't actually have all of those options whether we are talking about dating or songs. There isn't enough time in one life to listen to every song on the Internet. And the pretty photos that pop up on dating profiles aren't all going to provide a lasting connection.
It's 2015 and the options are endless. But maybe, when we're given the opportunity, less is still more.