Back in March 2020, stores in the public started closing temporarily to reduce social interactions because the case numbers of COVID19 were rising. This led to those frequent in-person shoppers turning to online shopping to indulge their shopping habits. 

Many people recognize the ease online shopping comes with. Phieffer Rigby,a junior at Rocky Mountain High School, describes how easy it is by saying products are “just one click away”. Not only are they one click away, but modern technology gives everyone easy access to sites.  

Quin Richards, a senior, said “When I’m just chilling at my house it’s way too easy to just open an app on my phone and start looking at websites.” Phones make it possible to shop anywhere at any time, and when people are stuck at home all day with nothing to do, online shopping becomes a useful distraction.  

Other than direct access, what makes online shopping more appealing that in person shopping? Well, Hannah Wilding, a senior, talks about how much nicer it is to not have to talk to anyone else, “people are annoying”. Online shopping reduces the amount of interactions people may have to have, which some say can be very stress-reducing for some.  

Richards agrees by saying “I don’t have to deal with clueless employees or other people getting in my way, it’s so nice”. The consensus among most teenagers is that the last thing they want when they are shopping is others getting in their way or taking too long to examine a product. The direct access plus the social convenience makes online shopping so addictive, especially for teenagers. 

However, the addiction come at a cost, literally. Before you know it, your online cart went from $10 to $100 in five minutes. Rigby says, “If I see something cute on social media it is so easy to just click the add to cart button”. With a few easy clicks, items are already in the cart and ready to go, but if the cart builds, the cost builds. 

Most high schoolers aren’t rolling around in piles of money. Rigby says “I have a job. My parents don’t give me money to spend”. Rigby and Wilding both have jobs that support their online shopping habits, so even if their parents don’t approve of how much they spend, they say it’s their money so their choice. It seems these cooped up teenagers found a way to make it through the pandemic without going completely crazy.