Dedicated: The Case for Commitment in an Age of Infinite Browsing

Thirty years later, a wave of “Slow” movements have spread to dozens of other areas of life. Architect John Brown has proposed Slow Home—an antidote to cheap and easy suburban sprawl. Psychologist David Tresemer has proposed Slow Counseling—an antidote to “one pill fits all”

And it’s not just friends that people are craving. We’re also craving the accountability that comes with being part of a mission-driven community. Warm feelings are not enough—we also want expectations to meet, aspirations to seek, and honor to earn.

Thomas Merton

At its core, much of commitment is about taking control of our time. Death controls the length of our days. But we control the depth of our days. Commitment is about choosing to pursue—in the face of our limited length—boundless depth.

We have difficulty making meaning out of life without outside help.

“What the son wishes to forget the grandson wishes to remember.”

The Polish philosopher Zygmunt Bauman has a great phrase for what I’m talking about: liquid modernity. We never want to commit to any one identity or place or community, Bauman explains, so we remain like liquid, in a state that can adapt to fit any future shape. And it’s not just us—the world around us remains like liquid, too. We can’t rely on an

Infinite Browsing Mode comes with a cost: When we spend our time frantically seeking out new experiences, we miss out on the deeper experiences that can only arise from sticking with something for a long time.

Why is commitment necessary to change? Because change happens slow, not fast. Everything that matters takes time—there are no shortcuts.