BY GARY LEE
STAFF WRITER
On a 13th of a certain Friday, a 20-year-old college student was just doing her normal part-time job to pay off debt, when she received an order for a certain delivery. She was just driving down 1679 Maple Street when someone wearing nothing but a t-shirt and sweatpants approached her. A few days later she ended up in a hospital due to a contagious lung disease.
Although this specific incident did not actually happen, these myths are garnering greater attention. Amidst this coronavirus, individuals are viewing mundane tasks such as purchasing groceries as a matter of life and death.
Death is a natural occurrence, but the prospect of delivering food has become eerily similar to taking a gamble for one’s life. Being without necessary items like food can lead to depression and mental degradation. But for some, it is a part of daily life that is quarantine. They would rather have a limited supply of nutrition than to expose themselves to the dangers the outside environment begins.
With modernization comes the luxury of efficiency and ease of access with delivery. However, can productivity and comfort really be considered more important than safety in times like this?
Increased refinement does not always mean increased security. Although ordering a delivery has become much easier for customers and recipients, ease of access is a double-edged sword. Sure, the items delivered will most likely be what you ordered, but there is no guarantee of the object’s safety from bacteria during transportation.
The consequences of a failed delivery have no limits; it can result in the life of the transporter, or as gruesome as the death of all the people involved.
Consequently, delivery is a risky option- lack of sanitation or a simple sneeze can rapidly spread the disease to even more individuals.
Delivery in itself is an innocent idea that has largely impacted the American economy. Nonetheless, like any concept, it can be abused and exploited for one’s personal gain.
When ordering online, there is almost no guarantee that the items delivered will be in the expected condition of the recipient. That fact holds true even more when it comes to food delivery. Furthermore, unlike plain grocery shopping, there are a lot fewer options to choose from. People do not have as much freedom in their choices in their delivery as to when compared to buying on-site.
The best solution people have currently is to try to keep delivery to a minimum while staying indoors as much as possible and only going out if it is for essential shopping. For outside shopping, it is crucial to follow any health and safety guidelines like wearing a mask or the six-foot rule.
Ultimately, the fact that some people can not survive without delivery is true. It is not worth it to risk someone’s life to have the luxury of delivering food. In other words, yes, people need delivery to survive, but they should try to limit the times they order to a bare minimum.