Remember when the only time you saw electric gates were when you were visiting very rich people, or watching them on television. These days, while it is still only really common in the more affluent suburbs, electric gates are becoming a regular feature in the middle class neighbourhoods everywhere.
The cost of electric gates has come down very considerably in the last few years, which has probably had a large influence on their popularity. As the price of electric gates has dropped and the average salary has risen it is becoming a lot harder to distinguish between the classes based on their toys, it seems most people can afford to get, at least, a version of the latest gizmo.
People will try and tell you that is all (or mostly anyway) to do with security and protection, that we live in times where electric gates are essential, that we cannot risk exposing ourselves to threats by actually getting out of our cars. Really. Are electric gates not just another step towards achieving that glam lifestyle that the media convinces us is essential for our happiness?
The sad thing about electric gates is that they are an extension of the high walls that have become so popular, and what these electric gates are doing is cutting us off even more from our neighbours and the outside world. It used to be only in exclusive neighbourhoods that people did not really speak to those living next door; with the rise in popularity of the electric gate this anti-social behaviour has now spread to the suburbs.
These very same suburbs where, not that long ago, one could pop next door, and if no one was home, you felt quite comfortable going inside and helping yourself to whatever you needed. People are quick to defend their electric gates, saying that the rise in crime is the reason electric gates are necessary, but does it not stand to reason that when you have such high level of neighbourly activity, the incidence of burglaries is actually very low. Which security firm or electric gate company could really compete with a nosy neighbour?
