Unfortunately, I don't have any photos from Latin America to show for my Thanksgiving weekend. No, I just sat alone in my apartment for three days. Fortunately for the American economy, not everyone was so pathetic - some people went Shopping.
November 25th was Black Friday, the day that retailers' ledgers float from red to black. Black Friday (a.k.a. "The Day After Thanksgiving," "Blitz Day," "Green Friday") even has its own ”official” website. If we haven't Shopped enough over Turkey weekend, next comes Cyber Monday, the day that everyone buys fruitcakes online instead of in-person at the stores. Business Week pooh-poohs Cyber Monday as being “only” the 12th biggest Shopping day of the year. But I say that's still a heck of a lot of Shopping.
I suppose Cyber Monday raises a bunch of meaty Cyber Issues: huge privacy concerns from millions of credit card numbers circulating through the Internet's ether; lost productivity from people Shopping at work, with or without the boss's permission; the general commercialization of the winter holiday season. But the issue I find most interesting is the increasingly impersonal nature of online Shopping.
I like American mass consumer culture. I like having a Starbucks and Taco Bell on every other corner - it gives me a reassuring sense of suburban security. I like being able to buy T-shirts at Wal-Mart for $2.37. Sure, the child labor thing is a bummer, but that doesn't hold back the hordes on Black Friday. So what's puzzling is how people can simply shop online during the holiday season. You can't brave the frigid cold and crying kids on the Internet. You can't e-drink a latte from home. You can't enjoy the Christmas lights and shiny cellophane with a computer. Even the Govenator can appreciate this. I heard on the radio that in the 25-35 age demographic, most people prefer Shopping at real stores with friends instead of buying stuff online because of the associated social pleasures. Now, granted, I spent a total of zero dollars on holiday Shopping over Turkey weekend, but I still appreciate a good, solid American mall.
Someday, Apple will probably enhance the iPod so that we can do everything from it. Then, consumers can iShop while they go jogging. But where's the fun in that?