Random thoughts: What Happened to Quality?
Hello!
A recent conversation with my mom on how long bikes lasted sparked a thought. You see, when she was a kid, one single bike lasted three kids riding it around everywhere. I don’t think this would happen today. I’ve used a bike that lasted three years of me riding it around everywhere (mountain biking, riding around town, etc.) Then it just broke. This made me think. What has happened to quality?
Currently, things don’t last very long. Computers practically don’t work after a few years of use (and they keep getting replaced with newer technology) Clothing becomes threadbare and falls apart after being used just a few times, when back in time, clothes lasted families years and years. It keeps raising the question: Where is the quality in our world?
Clothing:
Before sewing machines were invented, sewing clothes by hand took a very long time. These clothes, when completed, were worn a lot. Since clothing took so long to make, (and were very expensive) they had to be of high quality. Most everyone only owned a few dresses/outfits, and these lasted them a long time.
Nowadays, clothes don’t last as long. Lots of clothes that I’ve gotten from retail stores like Walmart and Target don’t last. Threads come loose, and then the whole garment falls apart.
Hand sewn garments lasted a long time because they needed to. Because whoever was making the clothes put quality over quantity. The same doesn’t happen now because clothing can be made very cheaply. It doesn’t matter as much if a shirt falls apart. It’s easy enough to just buy another one.
Stories:
The same thing has happened with stories too. Low quality books and movies like Twilight have become bestsellers. Our standard for good stories isn’t as high. There are less and less stories that make us think, and more and more that just entertain. A lot of stories don’t have meaning and good themes.
Luckily, there are also stories that are very well written and make us think. There are people creating good, meaningful stories. These are stories that can change the world and should become bestsellers. But only if we strive for good quality.
So, the next time a shirt falls apart after being worn once, or everyone reads a meaningless book and loves it, ask yourself what happened to quality? How can we bring quality back? I ask that we strive to bring quality back into the world where quantity has been chosen over quality.
-Hannah
4 comments
I completely agree! I see it happen a lot in YA fiction–either the book itself isn’t high-quality, or just repeats the same watered-down messages over and over. But I also see some fantastic books in that genre that make me think. This is something I really want to work toward in my writing . . . making people stop and think.
Yes! It seems like low-quality books are mostly in YA, but there are a very large amount of Middle Grade books that are absolutely amazing! That’s an awesome goal. I hope you can achieve it!
Completely agree. What happened to quality indeed.
Thank you! It’s definitely an important question to ask ourselves.