Endless scrolling through pages of sweaters and dresses. Unable to resist the urge to take advantage of the free shipping with no minimum. Filling your cart until the total makes you cringe. Sound familiar? You aren't a stranger to online shopping.
The internet has made it easier for us to do many things. Shopping is a big one. No more are the days of planning trips to the mall to find that perfect outfit. With a few clicks and scrolls, you can piece together the perfect look while your professor drones on in class. You can shop in your pajamas! You can shop on a long bus ride home! The world is at your fingertips, waiting to be bought.
Online shopping is a guilty pleasure of mine. Ever since I purchased a ring off of Amazon with a gift card I had earned, I was hooked. I browsed my favorite stores, discovered new ones, joined email lists, scoured blogs and websites for coupons, and wasted zero gas money in doing so. It was easy. Relaxing.
The small thrill of getting a package in the mail is like your very own Christmas morning. It's a present you bought, and you know what it is, but it's still exciting. Tracking your deliveries is a little game all in its own. Estimated shipping is 3-8 business days? Place bets on when you think it will arrive. It's a sweet satisfaction when your items arrive sooner than expected.
Does shopping tire you out? Me too. It's just too hard to look through everything for what you want. Online shopping fixes that. You can browse by style, designer, color, size, price, etc. Pretty much any filter you can think of. My favorite is "prices low to high". It makes shopping on a budget a whole lot easier.
There are some cons, however, to the magical world of online shopping. You can never be quite sure how something really looks or fits in real life from a picture. You can read reviews for somewhat of an idea, but it's always a little nerve-wracking not knowing what to expect. And it's such a hassle to do returns - if the company allows them.
You also get A LOT of emails. They have tantalizing headlines such as "BUY ONE GET ONE FREE" or "YOU CANNOT MISS OUT ON THIS AMAZING DEAL". It's tempting to act on them, but your wallet begs you not to. Businesses are good at getting you to give them money. You may be saving money on that cute new skirt, but not as much as you would have saved by not buying it.
I think the biggest con is how addictive it can be. I'll admit that I have a bit of a problem. I have wasted hours upon hours looking through things I do not need. I'm proud to say I look far more than I buy, but time is just as precious of a commodity as money, and boy have I wasted it.
The bottom line is that online shopping is dangerous because of how easy it is. It eliminates barriers to purchase. It used to be that you saw an ad on television. Perhaps you wanted what it was selling in that moment, but by not being able to purchase it immediately, you had time to really think about if it was something you needed or really wanted. Nowadays you can be scrolling through Facebook and see an adorable hat that you "just had to have". A few clicks and it's yours. No decision making process. An impulse buyer's dream come true. Or nightmare.
In the end, whether you're old fashioned and spoil yourself in person or prefer to do it through the web, shopping is a dangerous game. Dabble in consumerism with caution.
In the end, we don't take any of our belongings with us.
