Why Does Shopping Feel So Boring Now?

[@VividVirid]

I guess there was more effort put into physical stores since that was all we had back then as opposed to the massive online market today

[@82__]

No, you're not alone. Shit's fucked. There's a concept called the 'Third Place,' which is specifically a social surrounding that isn't one's home or one's work that someone can realistically interact with another human being in. This third place being cafes, bars, bookstores, libraries, churches, gyms, card shops, game stores, theaters, parks, and so on. Notice how all of these are places we have mostly done away with, or are well on their way of being abandoned. For the places that still exist, like gyms and the few theaters, it's become so insular that there is no possibility of establishing an external personal connection with another person. The few stores with interesting stuff in them just becomes basically another web page of Amazon but in real life. We don't interact with the people there because we've been beaten in the head through online discourse that interacting with strangers is a harrowing concept, *even if they more than likely share our interests.* _We can't possibly identify with someone that disagrees with our political or religious beliefs or if we like frogs or toads more, that would just break our whole worldview or something._ And so, we don't make the mental connection that these places are inherently interesting, even if they have some crazy cool stuff because it's the same experience as shopping on Amazon. There's no one there to make that experience different. There is another argument to be made of everything going mainstream. If my favorite thing is suddenly loved by everyone, then suddenly that everyone has an opinion on my favorite thing. That favorite thing is changed to suit that everyone, and thus it becomes an amalgamation that is sort of favorite thing, or not at all favorite thing as the company that owns it chases an even bigger audience (We got all these people interested in favorite thing, *surely* we can get even *more* people to get into favorite thing if we change this part of favorite thing). The result of this is that everything feels the same, chasing the same infinite audience of 'everyone,' catering to absolutely no one. Everything mainstream feels and looks the same, and thus becomes far, far less interesting as a result. Even if we met someone at a third place, what are we supposed to talk about? Any new media they might like is likely so banal and boring just as a consequence of everything going mainstream that there's probably not even a point of bringing it up in the first place, and talking about anything older has had its discourse largely run dry, as we've already talked about all that stuff at length with closer friends for hours. It's no wonder we see a headline like "Gamers Spent 60% of Their 2023 Play Time on Games Older Than a Half Decade," and we largely find it true. So if we can't talk about entertainment, what's left? Politics? Dating? Work? The Weather? Aside from maybe the weather, all of those are either a veritable minefield to even begin to navigate or are just soul crushingly depressing (Who wants to talk about their dead end skinner box job they work at to live? Who wants to talk about how they were rejected fifty times, or the concept that they even deserve love in the first place?). Of course shopping is boring. There's nothing to do but buy things, and the people there also are just there to buy things. Shit's fucked.

[@jaylenboon1881]

Man I miss Hastings! I enjoy getting out and window shopping but now a days you find less and less places that I'd want to do that at. I believe that is the reason why me and my family love shopping at junk stores. You get to hunt while also looking at the weirdest shit, but that's just me and mine.

[@JettKuso]

Hastings was one of the only 'nerdy stores' I've ever been in that's avoided the 'Keychainification' of franchises. Does your store sell things a Pokemon fan would like, or do you sell keychains with pokemon on them? Do you REALLY have Godzilla merch, or do you sell coasters with the Godzilla logo? Keychains, t-shirts, lanyards, funko pops, Hi-Chew.... Bottom of the barrel effigies, *references* to franchises, a business major's concept of geekdom- not made to fulfill a desire you already have, but to appease the mental programming that tells you Liking = Buying, so you'd better find something to buy. Anything to buy. Anything.

[@kingmurra]

I remember that hastings! I bought my first Dice to DM with and 10+ years later I still use those dice. I don't think shopping has gotten worse, I think the biggest difference is that I can afford things so if I want something I buy it and look at my options before I do. sure I walked around toy's r us looking for a beyblade (thanks to you), but I no longer get the excitment to want a buy something else on the spot. I do think that if I walked into a shop like hastings now the amount of stuff I would want to buy now compared to when I was a broke college kid would be different. Uncle Iroh summed it best: "The best part about shopping is not finding what you want, but finding things you didn't want before at a great Bargain!"

[@DanganRanger]

Honestly yeah your point about being able to afford things and looking at your options is a good one. I'm also incredibly jealous that you actually have a Toys R Us you can go to.

[@erikmclennan3934]

I feel simultaneously more alive and tragically morose watching this....I miss being younger and thinking life was gonna work out one day. Subbed. Thanks.

[@DanganRanger]

Thanks for the sub, man. Life certainly ain't the cavalcade of flying chocolate cars that young me hoped for, but it's all about finding the things that make each day worth living.

[@erikmclennan3934]

@@DanganRanger Good point!

[@Banunkie]

I agree. It might be because I miss the time where I had a lot of disposable income and could buy whatever I want but there is an element to shopping that is just missing. Personal story but in the town I grew up in there was this little game store that was gorgeous. It was themed beautifully, the door handle was a wooden log like you were going into a tavern, it was decorated like something out of a fantasy book. Even the front of the shop had a bunch of art of goblins and gnomes and all that. Unfortunately it closed down a long time ago, I've come close to experiencing the magic of that again but it's always been out of reach. These days you just have Geek Retreat, basically the McDonald's of game stores. There's nothing that just has that magic of what a game store could be, just product, school tables and funko pops.

[@DanganRanger]

It can be heartbreaking to lose a really good gaming shop. There was a unique, homely atmosphere in the LGS I went to in college that I've never found anywhere since. We went back a few years after I had graduated, and when the owners of the location packed up and moved, they took all the passion with them because the new management basically had the store feeling like a ghost town. No surprise it ended up shuttering forever after our last visit. It's a real shame.

[@JettKuso]

I'd watch a 10 minute video of you verbally tearing down funko pops with great prejudice. "Looks good for a Funko Pop" is a truly cutting insult.

[@Not_Mathie]

amazing video, i won't buy funko pops

[@DEMMOPE]

im farely young, and ive done some research and holy shit there are so many neich mom&pop gundam stores and just geek shops in general, the sad thing is, my parents dont trust places like that so im never able to go in an appreciate their selection or know if said selection is even good. god i cant wait to get a job and a license

[@hhxd4198]

Hunting for beys are fun

[@DanganRanger]

True, but in a different sort of "I am going into this store looking for a very specific thing" kinda way, instead of a "I am going to the store to see what kind of cool stuff they have" kinda way.

[@shinjukucalling763]

It's all slop now.

[@DanganRanger]

I hate to sound like a doomer about it, but it's hard to disagree. I'm not anti-consumerism by a long shot, but the fact that what is available for purchase these days is by and large so uninspiring and uniform is...disheartening to say the least.