DOING IT IN PERSON.

• Author: Farsad, Negin
• Position: HEMMING AND HAWING - Shopping

I know, you like online shopping. You like the convenience. "I'm busy," you say. I get it. I've heard it.

But you're wrong. I think in-person shopping is the mucus membrane that has kept society together and that we must preserve it. That's how big it is.

Before I get into it, here's a side note: I realize we're still in a pandemic. I want you to be safe. For health reasons, not everyone can shop in person. Take all precautions. But as we begin to reach a place that feels more like normal, it's worth giving some thought to breaking from online capitalism for full-scale, Luddite-style, in-person capitalism!

Here are some of the many reasons:

The Tactile Experience! You wanna buy something? Like a furry sweater? Wouldn't it be nice to put your hands on it and feel the fur? Sometimes, you order a furry sweater online and it arrives in the mail and you open it and what happens? It's made of porcupines and then you're stuck! That wouldn't happen if you were in-person shopping, because shopkeepers know porcupine sweaters don't feel good.

The Chatting! You know what you can't do with a box? Have a chat. You can't have a chat with a box, but you can have one with a store clerk or another shopper. One of the many things that keeps society together is chats. Dumb chats about the weather. Great chats about love. Middle of the road chats about ankle socks or honey-dew melons.

There's even research that shows talking to strangers improves people's moods, it makes you act and feel cheerier. The box just makes you feel like recycling is hopeless and that you need to re-moisturize your hands.

Storefronts and People Walking In and Out of Them! You know those little architectural models that are built to see what a building is going to look like after it's built? They always include a little tree and tiny little people walking in and around the building.

Why include those tiny little people? Because we like seeing people walk around. It feels like life is happening. Architects never build little USPS packages to sit around those buildings. No one likes looking at brown boxes and yet, our lives are littered with them.

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