I did a lot of internet shopping this weekend. It’s actually one of my favorite hobbies. The abstraction of the credit card number in conjunction with the mediation of computer monitor, mouse, and keyboard make the whole thing very game-like. Like playing dress-up when you’re little. The upside is that, a few weeks later, you get a little prize in the mail. There was a time, right after college, when I bought so many things online that I had a couple of credit card numbers memorized.
Come to think of it, the ease of online shopping has probably not done much to help with my reluctance to go out in public and interact with strangers. I’d like to think of it as assistive technology, if that’s ok with you. It’s not really ok with The Little Red-Haired Girl, who (understandably) gets frustrated when I’m in one of those moods where I refuse to run out by myself to the store for milk or whatnot. I guess that is one of the things that people worry about with the internet, that people will forget how to interact face to face. Although, it’s not that I’ve forgotten, I just prefer not to sometimes.
Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed my shopping experience this weekend, and I hope that it did not awaken some kind of dormant addiction. Because I know of a lot of great video games that have just come out (or are about to), and not only can I not afford them, but I also do not have time to play.