Got into it with my neighbor about why self checkout is bad for society

Last night at the block party, Mike the retiree went on a 10 minute rant about how self checkout kiosks are making us lose basic social skills. I laughed it off at first. But then he pointed out that my kids have never had to say please or thank you to a cashier. They just tap a screen. He said machines don't teach manners. Now I can't stop thinking about it. Has anyone else noticed their kids acting different around store employees?

3 comments

3 Comments

felixfisher1mo ago

Has your kid ever tried to use a self checkout and got mad when it didn't bag their stuff right, though?

laura1891mo ago

Oh my goodness, yes. My youngest just turned 10 and he thinks he's a pro at the self checkout. The other day he tried to scan a bunch of grapes and the scale got all confused because he set his soda down on it. He got so red in the face and started tapping the screen harder like that would fix it. I told him to just wait for the light to turn green and he huffed at me saying "I know what I'm doing, Mom." Meanwhile the machine is screaming "unexpected item in bagging area" and everyone is looking at us. I finally had to walk over and hit the "skip bagging" button myself. He crossed his arms and wouldn't touch the screen for the rest of the trip. Kids these days think they can outsmart these machines but they just end up fighting with them instead.

finleyf881mo ago

Read a study that said self checkouts make people more stressed than talking to a cashier.