Why Are We Addicted to Remote Controls?

Oct 23
09:19

2007

Tony Shipp

Tony Shipp

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With the advancements in technology of electronic devices, commanding this equipment with remote controls is in heavy demand. Remote Controls have become the greatest time and effort savers.

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Everyone who has ever spent 10 minutes or more looking for the remote controls needed to turn on the television and/or its components, please raise your hand. Don’t be ashamed,Why Are We Addicted to Remote Controls? Articles mine is raised too. It doesn’t matter that we could just as easily turn on our electronic friends manually but instead, we’d rather hunt for the remote controls instead of just going over and pressing the buttons with our finger. So why are we so addicted to these rectangular gadgets? The word, “control”, says it all.

 

When you think about how much of our lives are controlled by others, it’s easy to understand our love of remote controls. As adults, we are told when to go to work, when we can leave, how much we have to pay in taxes, etc... It’s actually a relief to come home, pick up the remote controls and have our way at the press of a button.

 

However, remote controls are actually more complicated than just getting up and manually controlling the television, stereo, VCR and DVD players. Before we can start using them, there’s the dreaded task of remote control programming to contend with. First you have to read the remote control instructions just to configure it to the television and other components and those instructions may read like a foreign language. It might not be so bad if there were just one unit to worry about but each component you purchase has its own. Walk into just about any home and there are at least three remote controls on top of the coffee table, mine included.

 

So what happens when one or more of the remote controls go missing and you just can’t find it, or, as has happened to me, the dog mistook one for a bone and chewed it into uselessness? After the initial panic of losing a good friend and grieving over its loss, its time to make a trip to the electronics’ store. No point in re-learning how to work the television manually. We must hurry to the store to purchase a replacement remote control. This brings a new level of anxiety into our lives because we have to make sure we purchase the correct one. This means remembering to jot down the make and model of our television set or we will stand in the store, looking at tens of remote controls without having a clue as to which is the right one to buy. Now before you head out to the store, it might be a good idea to go online and check out the latest remote controls that are available. You can do this by accessing the many online remote control reviews. Some of these babies can control 252 components. I can’t imagine having 252 electronic devices, but if I did, this is the type of remote control that I would want. After all, where would I put 252 remote controls and how would I keep track of which one went for which device?

 

Well, I have to go now, my favorite show is about to start and I lost the TV remote again. Hopefully I can find it before the dog does.

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