Online shopping for clothes, shoes, or makeup has become a routine “lunch” activity for busy American women
et everything delivered to you: service, food, or clothes…A life where you could work, shop, and exist remotely. It is not so much of a fantasy anymore. It is a reality in America, a virtual reality. As long as you have your credit card – and everybody in America does you do not need to step out of your house for anything. You can order everything online, and in many cases it is cheaper to do so. Grocery shopping, paying bills, finding service you need…anything, all online, and delivered to your very home.
Online shopping for clothes, shoes, or makeup has become a routine “lunch” activity for busy American women. Buying a car or bunch of gadgets is a common alternative for men. I am not exaggerating: you can buy anything online in America. Just name it. Moreover, there is probably a higher chance of finding something online than in the physical store. So, why bother go to the store if anything you need is just a few clicks away?
Being able to buy anything online and therefore anonymously, also means that you can freely go with your wants and needs, unhampered by embarrassment, humbleness, or unwillingness to personally show up at certain stores. Does this actually promote a free society or lowers morals remains a question.
Working remotely in America becomes more and more common. Usually you can get a couple of days when you can “work from home.” If you are “unlucky” though and actually have to be physically present at work, you usually end up spending hours (sometimes, days) in the office without having to utter a word. Google Talk, Yahoo Messenger, MSN, Sametime – these are no longer just for fun chatting programs, they are formal tools for business communication at work. There are even manuals on how to lead a professional conversation over an instant messenger. So, why talk if you can type.
Even customer service gets more and more impersonalized in America. The 1800 numbers always have the automated phone service that picks up the calls. “Press 1 if you need to order a new service, Press 2 to change the address.” You can actually go up to 10, before you get the “speak to a customer representative” option. Frankly, I usually give up before then.
And, finally, the social networking phenomenon has flooded Americans. On social networking sites, like MySpace and my absolute favorite, Facebook, the participation rates are staggering, as is the amount and type of information participants freely reveal. Profile entries, blog and forum posts, user reviews or tags – all these contribute to a virtual life. Not having a reason to leave the house, with no live communication, people have a need to share as much they can and feel “included” in the communities. Conscientiously, keeping your Facebook profile uptodate seems like the new way of doing that.
With no sunlight or live communication, it is not surprising that depression is a national disease in America and that obesity is a national challenge. I am glad to know that Ukraine is not there yet.
Lena Redko, a Kyiv native, lives in San Francisco and is studying for a masters of business administration at the University of San Francisco.
