It all sounds slick, doesn’t it?
Groceries, prescriptions, birthday cards — you name it, it’s just a couple of clicks away. For some, that’s magic. For others, it’s a brick wall.
We’re living in a world where convenience is king — but at what cost?
📵 When You’re Not Online, You’re Not Invited
Take Mrs T down my street. Lovely woman, still sharp as a pin, but doesn’t own a smartphone. She goes to the chemist like clockwork every Friday — only to be told last week, “You have to order online now.”
“No, I don’t,” she said. “You have to serve people.”
But the lad behind the counter just smiled awkwardly and said, “It’s all changed now.”
This isn’t progress — it’s polite exclusion. The kind that quietly chips away at our local face to face connections.
🏪 Tech Overload Is Squeezing Local Face-to-Face Life
It’s not just pensioners feeling the squeeze. Small businesses — the butchers, bakers, and hardware shops — are getting buried under apps they didn’t ask for.
Some tech firm turns up with promises of “online visibility” and “automated stock control,” and suddenly the corner shop is spending more time learning dashboards than chatting with regulars.
That local face to face spirit — the chats over counters, the “How’s your mum doing?” — it’s getting swallowed by silent tech.
🪑 The Disappearing Counter Chat
Remember when the Post Office was the heart of the community? You’d go in, ask about stamps, and end up hearing who’s moved, who’s new, and who’s having twins.
Now it’s “Scan your code,” “Drop it in the bin,” “Next.”
What happened to those local face to face moments?
They’ve been replaced by barcodes and earbuds.
🤳 Convenience for Some. Confusion for Others.
Sure, apps are handy — if you’ve got the phone, the signal, the bank card, the password, and the patience.
But what if you don’t? What if your world doesn’t revolve around notifications and barcode scanners?
Some folks just want to hand over a fiver, get their goods, and say, “Cheers, love.”
Is that really too much to ask?
🛠️ Let’s Rebuild the Local Face-to-Face Option
We don’t need to bin all the tech. But we do need a local face to face alternative at every step. Not just a “contact us” link buried under three menus — a real person, in real life, with real answers.
Let’s bring back the counter chat, the help desk, the “Pop in if you’re stuck” sign on the shop door.
Because connection shouldn’t depend on data. It should depend on people.
😂 oavo’s Cheeky Closer
So next time you see a sign that says “Online only,” go ahead and ask, “Why?”
And if anyone replies with, “It’s just how it is now,” feel free to say:
“Not if we’ve got anything to do with it. We’re keeping local face to face up to date.”
📢 Limericks from the Lounge
“This tech stuff’s gone right to me head!
I tapped just to browse,
Now there’s drones at me house —
And no one to natter instead!”
But was met by a screen that just said:
“Please scan and be gone.”
He yelled, “Hang on!
Where’s Linda who usually spreads?”
Tried ordering pills — got no crack.
“Do it online,”
They told her in line,
So she gave them a proper loud whack!
Not slicing up bacon in bags.
“I’m learning UX!”
He sighed under stress,
While his meat counter quietly sags.
But oavo weren’t having none of it.
He drew with a pen
A barcode on Ben
And said, “Try to scan that, ya twit.”
Replaced them with screens, bots, and stares.
So oavo sat down
In full dressing gown,
And asked Siri to sort out his wares.
He checks for a grin — not a pin.
“If no one says hi,
I won’t even buy —
And I’ll leave with me cheeky old chin!”