The Dutch contribution to human well-being should not be underestimated. Holland has given us gin, tulips, Rembrandt, the smash hit reality series The Traitors, and now supermarket kletskassa, or “chat checkout.” If you’re looking for a trolley of groceries and a little light conversation, Dutch supermarket His market His chain Jumbo has the answer. An event unfolding at kletskassa.
The experiment, which was first trialed in 2019 as part of the Dutch Ministry of Health’s National Coalition against Loneliness, proved so popular that it was focused on the areas where loneliness was most frequently reported and a number of more were launched. Hundreds of chat checkouts have been opened.
Isolation is a problem in the UK as well, a costly problem both economically and health-wise, numbers in the billions. Loneliness and social isolation are associated with a terrifying catalog of diseases.The problem is particularly relevant to an aging population, but the growing number of people living alone means that loneliness affects people of all generations. means to give
“Convenience” – always as a benign social advancement that allows us to spend more time with our loved ones (or smart devices) by allowing us to accomplish the mundane tasks of our daily lives at maximum speed. Assembled. Individual.
From insane automated voices telling you, “There was an unexpected item in the bagging area,” to irritating chatbots whose only purpose is to annoy and irritate unlucky customers, “convenience” It has proven to be a euphemism for wiping out all human contact from everyday transactions. , ruthlessly eliminates all the warmth, kindness and unexpected grace that come with the purchase of a pint of milk and a loaf of bread (not to mention the irresistible opportunities for people-watching the queue offers is not).
Such exchanges are usually fleeting, but they can sweeten your day. Also, at my local supermarket, people often choose to queue at the checkout even when the automatic checkout is free.
Of course, there are moments in our busy lives when all we want in a store is to pay for our goods and run. Auto checkout is perfectly designed for such moments. But we’re a social species, and chatter feeds as much as calories.
I buy less, but it’s good. He spends money like a drunken sailor. They are desperate shopaholics. A survey by the charity Keep Britain Tidy found that 80% of respondents believe that as a country we buy too much. However, only 25% say they buy more than they should. Overdose seems to be a vice for others. And recycling, which we practice faithfully, is not as virtuous as billing. The only sustainable option is to buy less.
Enter Marie Couelle, whose job at the French department store Printemps was once to flog the unnecessary. Seeing her sustainable light, she developed her antidote, her L’écologied’intérieur, into “enthusiastic consumption” in the form of podcasts and books.
Here I am witnessing the battle between a rooted Francophile and an incurable love of shopping. These days, my fanatical consumption takes place almost exclusively in charity shops. does it matter?
