I actually bought a box of matches today on Amazon. I don’t ever remember buying matches before.
My entire life I always had tons of matchbooks lying around and never thought twice about lighting candles, burning sage, setting my hair on fire, or whatever.
Now although many prefer using candles lit with batteries, I still find myself needing matches.
So, I went where I always go, to Amazon and ordered matches. Surprisingly they ran the gamut of prices, from twenty-seven dollars to $2.98. Guess which I bought?
Talk about burning through money! Twenty-seven dollars for a match? Unless they burn solid gold, I’m going with the cheaper model.
Okay so you’re wondering why I am wasting time opining about matches, but stay with me here.
Matches are a symbol of the loss of what I call the freebee.
Yes, there was a time in America when everywhere you went there was stuff lying around to take home. The goal was you’d use it all in advertising their product, store or whatnot.
Banks gave out pens, until I’m not quite sure when they started nailing them down to the counter.
Every restaurant had bowls of matches next to the mints when you left.
Calendars were a biggie. They reminded you of who furnished them for a solid year.
All sorts of premiums were given away gladly to ensure your continued business. Even candies were wrapped in a business’s name.
So why has this all changed and I now have to buy matches on Amazon?
If you’re thinking, wow she is cheap, complaining about some two-dollar matches.
Well, that’s not the point, although it did bug me a little.
Like old people who buy Sweet ‘n’ Low in a grocery store. We all know they don’t. But hey I do, so there. Not so cheap huh?
What is getting to me is wondering if they gave up all this freebee stuff how are they planning to get our attention now? Personally, I don’t like where this is headed.
We’ve already witnessed why matches are no longer necessary to grab your attention every day.
Computers and AI. That’s right the big C and little AI are now in charge of all the brainwashing.
If I sound paranoid it’s because I am.
It’s like a little invisible robot is following me around the Internet.
She just checked out a blouse at Macy’s, jump on it. Suddenly I’m receiving not only a picture of that same blouse on every webpage I enter, but more as well.
At least the restaurants with their free matches never followed me home and harassed me every second to come back and eat there again.
It doesn’t matter what you check out on line someone is there to remind you to buy it, visit it or come back to the site.
It’s uncanny how fast they move. They even add products that may go along with what you checked out.
Like if you search for a dining room table, suddenly you’ll see ads on your Facebook page for the matching chairs.
It’s like your own secret shopper is stalking you across the Web.
Now I’m not saying I’m dumb enough to believe we have any privacy in our lives anymore.
Hello Big Brother I feel you!
But come on, even shopping? Is nothing sacred any longer? I mean a girl and her charge card is a special relationship and should be respected.
Why should Google care if I need a new blouse? Have these people nothing better to do?
I remember the days when it was fun to window shop. Stores closed earlier then and it was fun some evenings to simply walk around and check out the merch after dinner or a movie. You’d notice how they displayed the products to get your attention especially on the holidays when everything was decked out to entice you to buy, buy, buy!
Believe it or not actual people thought about what mannequins to use, where to place them and what fun accents would draw more attention to each window and product.
Now little bots crawl around the Internet checking what you notice and reporting it to the head Bot. I don’t remember voting for a head Bot.
If this sounds creepy, I agree.
No one ever followed us around from store to store as we admired how a window was decorated. Unless they were a stalker. But there seemed to be a whole lot less of those back in the day.
Now our stalkers are little cyber beings that track, report and let Big Brother know our desires, taste level and how much time we’re willing to waste on line each day.
Supposedly there is a way to stop them from tracking your whereabouts. I’m certain that is a ploy to lure you into an illusion of privacy and they just make their little robots more stealth.
Gotta go now. Amazon is at the door delivering my matches. Hey what’s this? My Facebook just popped up with an ad for a lighter? Actually, I should have thought of that myself. Sad when you realize the little bots have better shopping genes that you. How depressing for a woman.
Thinking about all of this I am remembering how exciting it was when our family bought its first television set. Who knew eventually it would be the TV watching us one day?
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