Internet Speeds And the Scarcity Mindset

My first Internet connection was at 33 kbps. It couldn’t load more than a couple of websites at once, or they’d all grind to a halt. I had to plan whatever I wanted to download, connect, download them, and disconnect, to keep the bill under control. The first time my cousin and I downloaded a song, it cost ₹40! And in those days, that was an astronomical amount to spend for one song.

As Internet speeds kept increasing, I found more and more things to do. For example, I found that I need 100 mbps to play Ultra HD video from Youtube. But Youtube would not automatically switch to UHD — I had to manually change it. It would play smoothly but I had to manually change it first. I now have a 400 mbps connection, and Youtube automatically switches to UHD. This is a luxury, an excess by the standards of earlier days. When we’re in poverty, we can imagine adequacy, or having enough, but we can’t imagine luxury, or having a lot more than we need. Now that we’re living in luxury, we should be grateful and enjoy what we have.