In an article from Forbes Magazine in India, Sanford Devoe and Chen-Bo Zhong discuss how McDonaldization of the food fast industry impedes the happiness of Americans. Our constant focus on time efficiency inevitably leads us to become impatient. People's happiness diminishes as the efficiency of fast food increases because we take less time to enjoy the small pleasures of life, including savoring tastes, or simply taking our time (Devoe and Zhong). Devoe and Zhong argue that financial wealth impedes the likelihood of enjoying life's small pleasures because a small piece of chocolate is almost nothing in the grand scheme of a wealthy person's riches (Devoe and Zhong).
In one study, they showed a relationship not only between greater income and less savory but also between greater food consumption and less time for savory. Another study showed a sample of participants different photos: some only saw 'natural' photos of unwrapped fast food on ceramic plates, while others were shown fast food in its packaging (Devoe and Zhong). The results showed an increase in suitability and happiness in the photos of the unwrapped packaging, but a decrease in the suitability and happiness of the fast food packaged photos. Happiness was not the affected factor, but rather "individuals’ savoring of pleasant stimuli [were impaired] (Devoe and Zhong). The third study, they had participants listen to an opera and record their emotional response to the music and their feelings about its length. They "primed" some participants with fast food, all of whom stated that they thought it was longer and more unpleasant than those who had not been given fast food (Devoe and Zhong). Devoe and Zhong say that income does not have the largest effect on happiness, but rather our perception of our lack of time that we have to spend on small pleasures. Fast food increases the impatience by causing an expectancy for efficiency and timeliness, which in turn, leads to a decrease in the amount of time we spend savoring foods. Efficiency is one of the main dimensions of McDonaldization, according to George Ritzer. He says efficiency is "the optimum method for getting from one point to another" (Ritzer). In this article from Devoe and Zhong, we see that fast food consumers demand efficiency in order to get in and get out and "to get from being hungry to being full", without savoring the flavors (Ritzer). Although correlation does not imply causation, this study caused me to think about how often I walk somewhere where a line has formed, and automatically sigh or complain about how long I have to wait. The McDonaldization of time has affected everyone, causing us to think of waiting for something as inefficient and wrong. Even employees of fast food restaurants are aware of the impatience of its customers and are timed accordingly to ensure that the food comes out both as it is supposed to look, and in a timely manner for the customer. Society's pace has forever changed into a constant sense of urgency. I thought of social and cultural capital, as described in The Double Binds of Getting Food among the Poor in Rural Oregon, by Joan Gross and Nancy Rosenberger. In the fast food industry, we are seeing that the division between the cultural capital of the wealthy and the poor is diminishing. Usually eating out is considered a form of cultural capital and those who eat out more are considered to have more capital. However, wealth affects how people spend their money on fast food, much less, and both parties have less patience to wait for the food they purchase. I can think of multiple occasions where I have been waiting in a long line, and someone whom I do not know turns around to make a comment about the long wait time. No matter that person's background, you both become a part of a network of impatient people who can bond over the wait of your fast food.
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