The first time I saw self-checkout, it seemed to me to be ultramodern. I did not use it, if memory serves correctly. But I could understand the appeal, because it just seemed so futuristic and cool. A real novelty item.
Then, they began to pop up all over the place, and it became a trend. And it was hard not to recognize that the trend meant something: fewer jobs.
Yet, rather typically for modern American society, it was given very idealistic terms. It was equated with greater freedom and convenience, and so the lines began to grow longer for it. The "do it yourself" option, and that was just too attractive for most people to resist.
However, the problem is that this is no longer a novelty item, and people cannot pretend to feign ignorance about what this means. This is taking away real jobs, a mode of automation replacing people that is hitting directly in our communities, visible in our everyday lives. If you mindlessly, instinctively support it, then you are supporting a corporation's desire and follow-through on that desire to get rid of people and jobs, in the name of maximizing their profits. You see it everywhere: at your local supermarket, at the Walmart and Target and other big stores, and increasingly, at local fastfood joints.
It seems to me that this is quite directly, and transparently, impacting our communities for the worse. Yet, they remain popular.
Frankly, this is a "trend" that deserves to die.
Please take a look at the article by Kaitlyn Tiffany (see link below) to see not only what it is doing, but what direction it could head in next. At some point, we need to stand up to all of this "convenience" and "economic freedom."
Wouldn’t it be better if self-checkout just died? Yes! Because you won’t like what it spawns next. By Kaitlyn Tiffany@kait_tiffanykaitlyn.tiffany@vox.com Oct 2, 2018, 7:00am EDT
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