If I push the button more than once, will it make the lift arrive faster?
It’s a tale as old as … buttons that require pushing. Spoiler alert: the answer is no.
The lift won’t arrive faster if we press the button twice, but many of us still do it. Credit:iStock
Despite knowing this, I push most buttons more than once: when wanting a bus to stop; while waiting for the man to turn green at a pedestrian crossing; when traversing levels of an office building.
And I am not alone.
Many people belong to this serial-pusher club. In the moments we face, together, these lifetime members bravely take the pushing burden off my shoulders. Thank you for your service.
As the club’s unofficial spokesperson, today I’d like to shed some light on why we are repeat pushers.
Firstly, pushing a button twice allows us to ensure the first attempt has effectively connected. This is particularly helpful in environments where the button does not illuminate with a bright glow indicating the mission was successful. A confirmation push is relatively normal behaviour.
Alas, I seldom stop pushing after two attempts.
Next, is an underlying addiction to our stimulus-response impulse. That is, merely reacting to what has been intentionally placed in front of us (asking to be pushed).
Scientists have argued this pattern of behaviour is learnt, manifested in generations of family members and friends repeatedly pushing buttons in our presence. This explanation alone, however, does not bring me great confidence.
If my impulse-response was so strong, I’d be unable to rationalise other moments in my life interfacing with stimuli. A meagre mindless reactor. For example, quitting on the spot the moment I am critiqued; losing my temper if the barista makes a skim cappuccino instead of using regular milk; giving in when feeling overwhelmed, misunderstood or challenged. That would be inaccurate and misleading – simply, it’s just not what I do.
Once, twice, three times…?Credit:Lucy Stone
For the most part, I am not powerless to my humanistic desires; responding without reasoning and logic. Even in the confines of button-pushing, I am able to respect boundaries and socially normative behaviour. I would never push something that falsely heralds the need for emergency assistance or makes a bell sound requiring the attention of someone who is clearly busy.
Perhaps, it represents our impatience. Even more sinister, our discomfort with being unproductive. Surely, there are incidental health benefits associated with the increased physical movement that comes with pushing? Thoughts like these make the frequent touch feel better than idly waiting.
There’s probably some fear, too. Scared of what’ll surface in the stillness and downtime of nil response. Moments we have rarely experienced since before the “remote-revolution” associated with this pandemic. A period that has made it possible for work, social and family time to be arranged and transpire at the touch of a button (probably while doing other things).
As a mixed-race Italian and Iranian Australian, there’s never been a more poignant time than now to avoid the gaping hole that motionlessness brings. Feeling powerless in our current global political climate. If I look to my left, the bloodshed of my brothers and sisters in Iran standing up courageously against oppression. To my right, the uncertainty (and fear) of what a newly elected right-wing Italian government will mean.
Pushing those buttons again and again, from this island nation, makes me feel in control during such volatility. On the surface, it also satisfies my pursuit of efficiency and time-maximisation.
I concede, unfortunately, this physical reaction is not actually contributing towards the achievement of these outcomes. Something I often forget in the heat of the moment – when confronted by those tactile critters.
Ruminating about this reinforces the notion that maybe it’s time to accept, and lean into, doing “less” in those moments we (mistakenly) think we’re doing “more”. A quiet quitting of compulsive button pressing – whose redundancy becomes louder with each additional push.
Because, as the single-pushers spruik, one press of the button will still get us there: in the same amount of time.
For now, though, I’ll settle on a limit of two pushes … just to be safe.
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