Virtually Broke

As we move towards an age where money becomes more of a concept and less of a tangible object, only we are to blame for creating the economic disconnect it brings. Gone are the days when the gold coin in your hand represented exactly that: a gold coin. Picture yourself walking in a crowded marketplace and stopping at a fruit stall. When the merchant tells you how much he wants for the fresh bushel of shiny red apples, you place a hand in your pocket and feel the weight of your coins, and you know if it is worth it to you. Back to the present moment, the merchant is replaced by a virtual shopping basket on your computer monitor, the apples are reduced to a bland, two-dimensional picture on your screen, and the coins in your pocket are sitting as bullion in a high security building some place you do not know the location of, but they are represented by a small wafer thin card in your hand. So how do you expect to know the actual worth of those apples? The cashless economy decides.

As we use technology for more convenient and 'hassle free' purchasing, we slowly lose the concept of money. I would rather carry around gold coins on my person at all times, knowing what I am gaining and losing at every purchase. Also, due to their weight, we would be reluctant to carry around too much in the first place, and therefore avoid impulse buys. Now, a more reasonable person would argue that it would be impossible to buy a car or house in this way. However, for big purchases like that, both parties should just go to the bank. I mean, if you are making such a grand expense, what's the problem with a short trip to the bank? By making money virtual, we have made it too easy to spend money on anything and everything. This is counterproductive in the long run, since people succumb to impulse buys and end up spending more than they should.

The automated merchant and their virtual store is another wolf in disguise. It takes no effort to sit in one place and browse thousands of items you most probably don't need, and would never think of buying if you never saw them. Products are practically forced upon us these days, and since the merchant only needs your card number, their job is made easy, while your hard earned money is vacuumed away. What ever happened to the jolly merchant pulling you to his stall and offering you the 'freshest fruit in the market'? What happened to all the haggling? Where are the products I can touch before buying, without having to sign a 30-page disclaimer stating that the item is non-refundable? Where is the personal experience?

This is the disconnect. The value of money is no longer in your (the buyer's) hands. It is the virtual marketplace that decides what is worth how much. We are shameless in our desires to buy whatever we see, and the virtual merchants have capitalized on our greedy human nature. Taking away our money and replacing it with an impersonal magic wand, with the power of purchase, has turned us into little kids in an inexhaustible candy store. God help us.