by Sharon Ruth Hill

Created on: January 10, 2011

“I didn’t feel like dealing with a person” said my friend Jason. He was describing a recent trip he made to a neighborhood grocery store and the reason why he elected to use the self-checkout. His statement mirrored my own feelings-I will usually take the self-service option when presented with a choice of full-service or self-service. 

Self-service is a convenient and comfortable fit for our fast paced society. A few of the choices available to us are self-checkout at the grocery store, DVD rental from a vending machine outside a retail outlet, and the Automated Postal Center at the post office.

Over the last three decades we have evolved, whether by personal choice or the mandate of the business sector, into a nation of consumers who dispense their own soft drinks at a local eatery, conduct banking at a twenty-four hour Automated Teller Machine, and order virtually any product on-line without the help of a single individual.

Recently, a new Smart Phone application was developed at MIT that will allow individuals to check their vision themselves and, if necessary, print a prescription for eyeglasses. Will this application eventually eliminate the need to see an Optometrist? We can only imagine what technology will soon be available with a self-service option.

In some ways, self-service has either re-defined our society or acted as a catalyst by shining a spotlight on our desire to impersonally interact with our world. We accept the alienation of a self-service transaction and may even prefer it to the alternative.

Do we select the self-service option as part of a temporary cure for what ails us?

The constant bombardment of print advertising, the constant unsolicited sales pitch, exposure to digital in-store advertising, personal appeals of every variety, and forced media interaction has strained our desire to communicate.

There is also pressure at work with the constant interruption of hundreds of emails phone calls. You call it a day and then off to home where the level of communication is sometimes heightened and intense.

When we become devoid of emotional energy we loose our desire to connect with human beings. We retreat from our perceived battles by the path of least resistance. Self-service allows us to be alone in our own thoughts as we opt to control our own level of interaction with others.

Self-service can offer a temporary respite from personal interaction, allowing us the opportunity to mentally or emotionally recharge and prepare for the really important communications in our busy lives.

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