Sometimes, especially when I am tired, I can become paralysed in front of the Pret a Manger sandwich displays; utterly incapable of deciding whether my life will be marginally more fulfilled by eating a healthy-looking falafel and humous on seeded-bread or a dolphin-friendly tuna and cucumber baguette or a good old-fashioned cheese and pickle – and that’s without getting even more confused by the sushi and the soup; and the only thing that snaps me out of it is not hunger or the need to get anywhere soon, but the sudden realisation that I have been standing like an Antony Gormley sculpture for what seems like six hours in a public space where it is socially unacceptable to pause for longer than six seconds – a mixture of self-consciousness, shame at this psychological dysfunction, and fear that the police or medics or anti-terrorist squad will be arriving at any moment to carry me away.
In these very limited circumstances (Pret a manger, tiredness, etc. – now I am feeling defensive and trying to backtrack…) I am what they call an indecider. A recent report from the University of Bristol called ‘Confused Nation’, cleverly sponsored by Confused.com, reveals that many of us feel more confused than we did ten years ago, and 42% of the UK population lie awake at night trying to make decisions.
The report also shows that nearly half of all Brits (47%) confessed even little decisions can be hard to make, largely caused by an overwhelming amount of choices hindering the ability to make decisions quickly and confidently.
The extensive research has also identified a term for this state, dubbed the ‘Indeciders’ – collectively described as “a group of individuals suffering high levels of confusion whilst displaying an inability to be decisive, leading in some cases to depression.”
Professor Harriet Bradley from the University of Bristol comments: “With a constant stream of new media, daily technological advancements and aggressive multimedia advertising, it’s no wonder that over half of Britain thinks life is more confusing for them than it is for their parents. We really are becoming a nation of ‘indeciders’.
It is not only the ‘big’ areas of life that are causing confusion. Although politics is the area people find most confusing, with 65% of the UK reporting confusion over the policies of major political parties, the survey also found 69% of the country failed to understand bankers’ bonuses and interest rates. What to wear at certain occasions, predictive text and flat pack furniture were also identified as key areas of confusion.
The report also revealed:
Women are more prone to confusion than men, with 84% admitting to experiencing confusion, compared with 72% of men;
Those from Northern Ireland are the least confused in the UK, compared with Wales, which is the most confused region;
The most confused person in Britain is likely to be a 17 year old girl living in Cardiff, whereas the least confused person is likely to be a 60 year old man living in Edinburgh.
Let’s hope they don’t have any Pret a Manger outlets in Cardiff.
How very true and we are none the happier for all these choices! You can’t even buy a simple ham sandwich here any longer as they are all ham and other ingredients some of which are completely unknown to me. Even with a simple McDonalds meal a range of drinks is offered!
So, no Prets in Cardiff.
I find McDonald’s impossible, so I now avoid it completely. The advertising is so clever, it makes it look as though the food is really cheap, so you have an idea that it’s a cheap snack, yet when you actually try and buy there, it’s always much more expensive than you anticipated… And indecision in the fast-food culture is dreadful. I definitely prefer slow-food.
Thanks Fr Stephen, that was most amusing, and so true.
You know, Father, my brother said to me the other day, “Academically, and in your ‘Jesus stuff’, you’re on the ball. But when it comes to common sense, you’re as thick as a plank”.
He said this to me because sometimes, and particularly when my brother is around, I’m somehow stunned into a bemused silence and stillness – and confusion!
You have just clarified why! This is an amazing discovery for me! It explains in so many words, why I’m often dumbfounded at one particular moment of intense indecisiveness. There’s just so much noise, and too many choices for me to make at any one go – and I often war with myself on whether I’m making the right choices – hence the preoccupied pauses in my activity.
So thank you, Fr. Stephen, for sharing your discovery with this confused and indecisive soul (me!).
Oh… and I’m glad I’m not the only one that stands in front of a Pret sandwhich stand without a clue as to which delicious (and over-priced) sandwich to purchase.
I’ve read a similar study about this sort of thing. They called it “choice paralysis”. There was an experiment in a shop. In one instance there was a shelf with about 50 varieties of jam and in the other only about 10. The one with 50 attracted great interest, but very few purchases. However, the one with 10 has fewer people spend time perusing it, but far more purchases.
I’m sure there’s something in that that could be applied to the numerous “lifestyle choices” on offer today and actually picking something as true vs scepticism and relativism. But I’m too tired to ponder it any further today!
Totally hilarious with an ambiguously serious twist.
In our home we have almost a pensioner, a teenager, many littlies and a mother who at times of pregnancy or extreme sleep depravation couldn’t even hold a conversation, or better still held one and then forgot what she was saying half way through. I’ve also been caught rocking side to side whilst scanning the shelves in the supermarket as if I was trying to get the baby off to sleep. When there was no baby with me :O0
The trick I have learned is to simplify.
The cheapest mobile phone with no tricks up its sleeve.
Basic technology with an off/on and volume control switch.
Default to the sushi and bottle of water option, Or failing that a coffee please.
Always carry a pen and paper. (If one forgets momentarily who one is you can always stop on a park bench and write a poem or draw a sketch) until something kick starts the memory.
If one begins from a place of alternative being, this behaviour may even go unnoticed. Failing that just smile, its better to be a happy Gormley that a gormless one. RETREAT AGAIN AND AGAIN.
Having read this post twice, it occers to me that two reasons for our increasing confusion are firstly, we live in a society which is better informed and more knowledgable than, say 50 years ago. There is a more open access to information today than decades ago. This openness together with the media and the internet serve to inform us more and, at times, baffle us with information. Secondly, there is a higher general standard of education which enables people to seek out information and analyse it. Sometimes, I think we are bombarded with so many diferent versions of the same piece of news or other information that it is easier to become confused by it.
By the way, I’m a 50 year old man from Nottingham, so where do I fit on the scale?
There is a Pret in Cardiff, I’m afraid. If you go there avoid it. Console yourself with the thought that Professor Bradley did not cite you as the most confused person in Britain. Anyway, as my elder daughter’s Scottish godfather would say: “Jesus disnae mind!”
Father Stephen:
You are certainly not alone in your confusion! I do believe that it is a sign of the times; we are all filling our days with to many things and the mind just goes into overload. I often find myself in a daze while at the checkout after my weekly trip to the grocery – paper or plastic (bags) the checker asks, and I stand there as though it is the decision of my lifetime! Or while driving I will suddenly wonder where am I going? Then I think, well, I was driving this way for a reason and soon it will come to me, and luckily it does, and I am not a 17 year old woman, but oh to be 17 again.
Analysis Paralysis