Gunner: for lack of better terms is a subgroup of students who are excessively driven in their pursuit of success that they disregard team work, over flaunt their achievements, and hoard opportunities from their peers. No one likes a gunner, but are they really to blame? Are their actions not just a direct response to the overly stimulated and competitive nature of out society? I think it starts with how success and happiness have molded into one entity instead of two different spheres of life.
In recent years, society dropped the idea that success and a happy, healthy life style are distinct aspirations that we should be striving for. Instead of leaving work at the office to spend time with family, the creation of technology has begun to to breakdown that barrier. The average cellphone is so crucial in the shift of work life balances because emails and work calls can now transcend the boundary of the office and invade the privacy of own’s home. In cooperation with technology, social media participates in pushing hustle culture forward by placing stigmas on people do not aspire to live the life of extreme stress and reward. Individuals are allowed to paint certain personas and images on the internet, where only their achievements and successes are shown. Of course, the responsibility of a social media user is to understand that a snippet of one’s life is not their entire story, but when everyone around you shows only success without failure in their life then people begin to feel pressured to achieve the same. As access to technology evolves, so too does academic performance. What was once considered genius is now the norm simply because we are able to use innovations to our advantage. Now we live in a world where great students are below expectation, and exceptional students are just ordinary; therefore, we created the perfect breeding ground for students/workers who believe they must prove their own self worth to a society that deems them worthless. At this point, is happiness even attainable if you are not the first in every aspect of your life? If happiness is an indicator of self worth and society is saying we are worth less, then societal recognitions is the key to happiness, which is also key to success, which is… on and on again.
Our society run on commodity, and it just so happens that our happiness and success are on the market too. Maybe if you work hard your whole life you will get a sale on the price of happiness. Happiness, an aspect that was once seen for its quality and experience, has now been quantified. I said before that I dislike gunners for their inability to cooperate and treasure the meaning to true camaraderie/team work, but I also feel like they are just trying to survive in a cut throat environment. Sad to say, but we live in a world where preying on other’s success will eventually bring you to the happiness we are taught to believe in. A type of happiness that’s not found in a lazy Sunday with your family, but a happiness that fuels the government that will not thank you for your sacrifices.
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