Is Online Shopping Helpful or Wasteful? By: Xenia Morrison

 Is online shopping helpful or wasteful? Since its birth, social media has made many contributions to people’s lives. It allows us to expand our social circle by making new friends, staying updated on current events, and gives more variety to shopping. Much like its other aspects of social media, online shopping has had some controversy when talking about its benefits for people, and whether or not that outweighs the negatives. For example, some people argue that online shopping is bad, as it worsens people’s shopping addiction by allowing them to spend a great amount of money at a greater convenience when they are upset, which can increase materialism and add to waste. This can be a great concern, not only for the shoppers’ lack of coping methods, but also for the environment, especially during a time when the overuse of fossil fuels for making materials is a big issue. However, there have also been others who argue that online shopping can be very helpful, especially for people who deal with social anxiety and struggle to go to stores. Online shopping can also be a great tool for the disabled or those who are extremely busy and could benefit from things being shipped to their house or ready for pickup at a certain time. Although I feel that online shopping’s pros outweigh the cons, both sides provide great points that should be explored more in order to get a greater insight.

Perspective #1: Increasing Normal Spending Habits

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On one side of the debate, Alfonso Pellegrino et. al point out in his paper, “The Dark Side of Social Media: Content Effects on the Relationship Between Materialism and Consumption Behaviors” that online shopping, particularly through social media platforms, places one’s self-confidence and joy on materialism. He continued to further establish his point by mentioning that it's easier to “[T]arget the individual users directly…” because social media creates a personalized algorithm that displays advertisements everywhere for things the person might like, as well as suggestions for people that they may admire for things that they don’t have. By doing this, people are constantly comparing themselves to people on the internet, and are more enticed to spend money on unnecessary things. Pellegrino et al. also argues that while online shopping is convenient and expands availability of purchases, it also allows people to practice their bad spending habits without judgement from others. For example, if a person had a bad day, their habit might be to spend money impulsively on things that they will later regret. Online shopping eases the stress of other people’s judgement, but it will worsen the person’s bad habits further down the road.

Perspective #2: Online Shopping is Smarter Shopping

Looking at online shopping through a different lens, social media can influence people’s experience in a way that will improve people’s lives. If a person saw a product online that they might want to consider purchasing, one would want to know if it’s the right choice. What if it’s not as good as it seems? What if the fabric for that beautiful dress is cheap or if it’s long-lasting and comfortable? These questions can be answered by a variety of online reviews, such as people on TikTok reviewing the latest trend, or looking at reviews on Amazon. Nationwide backs up this perspective in their article, “Online Shopping vs. In-Store Shopping,” stating that “[a]lthough sales representatives can provide helpful knowledge and expertise, they can make some in-person shopping experiences nerve-racking for consumers.” By pointing out that although a person might feel nervous asking for help from a store clerk in person, it emphasizes that online reviews can help a lot of people who struggle to get feedback on items that they would otherwise never get. 

The article also proceed to add to their argument by mentioning that by going online, they can get a variety of sources that will give unbiased opinions about what the consumer wants to purchase. Of course, there will be some people whose job is to create content who may be biased in order to receive sponsorships, but that is why the variety in feedback is so valuable online. Another main point that was brought up was the convenience that online shopping provides. For people that lead busy lives, ordering online can save lots of time by having the things they need to be delivered to their house, or picked up at the store at a time that is good for them. In the article, it mentions that “[a] shopping list that once might have required an entire day of shopping can now be completed in one sitting thanks to online shopping platforms.” In the same sections, Nationwide also brings up that “[w]ith front door delivery, that’s one less thing to fit into your schedule,” which help support the idea that online shopping can lighten the burden for many people that may work long hours or already have a long to-do list while being an at-home parent.

                                                    Image by SumUp on Unsplash

Points of Disagreement

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After reviewing both sides, there were a few disagreements. A key example of this was the articles’ views on how online shopping affects people’s quality of life. Pellegrino et al. believes that social media decreases a person’s life, contending that online shopping is “[M]otivated by social factors such as impressing others, improving one’s social status and gathering prestige through objects,” and then also explain that the immediate joy felt from online shopping is mostly temporary as they will soon after, “[E]xperience feelings of loss and worry shortly after the purchase.” Although they have more options to choose from online, it motivates bad spending habits, which may result in credit card debt, encourage self-comparison and increase the person’s materialism. This can be bad for the person’s mental health as well, because they are tying more of their self-worth and joy to the things they own. On the other hand, Nationwide suggests that online shopping can improve people’s lives, as it can save people lots of time on grocery shopping and to avoid the “[S]truggle to find an hour or more a week to spend browsing the store shelves for groceries.” Also in contrast Pellegrino et al.’s argument that online shopping motivates bad spending habits, Nationwide asserts that one can actually save money by using coupons that are only available on the app. Lots of people may find this relevant if they shop regularly at a few select stores, and receive gratification in a way that will not disappear after an online purchase as Pellegrino et al. suggests.

Points of Agreement

However, despite having different view points on whether or not online shopping is good, one thing that they have in common is their belief that online shopping is less nerve-wrecking than in-person shopping. In the article, “The Dark Side of Social Media,” Pellegrino explained that “[c]ompulsive buyers prefer to use the Internet or social media to avoid others discovering their dysfunctional purchase behavior and to avoid being exposed to others’ opinions; as a result, compulsive buyers… are more prone to Internet compulsive buying intentions and behaviors.” Nationwide’s article also published ideas that, although see this as a positive part of online shopping, also agree, explaining that “...some shoppers prefer to remove the pressure altogether by relying on online shopping sites where they can take their time and not feel forced into a sale…” Although both parties have disagreements, they were able to find common ground and agree that online shopping can relieve some people’s stress that could be experienced with in-store shopping.

Strengths and Weaknesses of Source #1

Pellegrino et al.’s article, “The Dark Side of Social Media,” had several strong points when discussing the bad aspects of social media, online shopping, and consumerism. One of the article’s strengths is how they used logos and pathos to not only serve logical evidence that online shopping is bad for people, but also convey fear in the readers. Logos are embedded throughout the article, with it being published on a credible government website and having several references to other sources for statistics and studies to prove the unfavorable aspects of online shopping. This is important when determining whether the source is legitimate as well as trustworthy. 

Alongside logos, pathos was also used to establish the article’s strength. A great example of this is how pathos was used in the introduction. The author discusses how people who are involved in online shopping through online shopping are buying things that they don’t need, which results in, “[H]igher debts, credit card over usage which can lead to family problems, mental disorders, addiction…” By bringing this issue back to mental health and family, something that is cherished by most people, it induces feelings of fear and concern over the topic, which makes them more engaged and easier to persuade. Another aspect that strengthens this source is how the authors also pointed out the good aspects of materialism.

 

In the section of the article, “Literature Review,” Pellegrino et al. initially stated that “materialism may lead to life dissatisfaction” because when all a person keeps consuming and wanting to buy more things, they are never fully satisfied. After pointing this out, Pellegrino et al. then looked at materialism from another perspective and mentioned the good aspects of it, like how people who are materialistic are more economically motivated, because they are grounded by realistic things that they can obtain. The authors’ ability to bounce back and forth on the strengths and weaknesses of each concept while backing up their original arguments really helps tighten the gaps where the article would otherwise be more feeble.

Strengths and Weaknesses of Source #2

Just like Source #1, the second source also comes with its strengths. The article, “Online Shopping vs. In-Store Shopping: Pros and Cons,” introduces both perspectives with a fair overview. The article is organized nicely, starting off by discussing the good and bad aspects of online shopping, and then proceeding to do the same for in-person shopping. Nationwide captioned each section with a little add-on information to each point that was made for both sides, which made it easy to follow, and allowed the reader to get to the point instead of reading a large amount of material. Another one of the article’s strengths is that the author evenly distributes the pros and cons, which makes for a better read, because since one side is not biased, it’s kept informational and allows for the reader to make their own choice about what they would prefer. I also liked that at the end of the read, Nationwide provides safety tips for online as well as in-person shopping. It further elaborates that the purpose of this article is to spread awareness, and that they care, regardless of what I would think is superior. By doing this, it helps establish trust between the writer and the reader because now the reader feels less cautious about being persuaded into a belief.

Personal Opinion

After doing research and reading both sources about online shopping and whether or not it is good or bad, I can understand both sides. Nationwide makes a good point in saying that online shopping can be extremely beneficial to people who struggle to find time in their day to go to the grocery store, save money by finding expensive things for a better price on Facebook, or feeling less anxiety when asking for feedback on things they want to know more about. However, Pellegrino et al. also made excellent points in showing that while, yes, online shopping does provide more variety and convenience, it can also decrease a person’s confidence and joy while simultaneously increasing their materialism, which can lead to debt and pollution due to the extra waste. 

However, although the drawbacks of online shopping should always be taken into consideration, I think that it’s really useful, and that we should not let the bad points prevent us from doing our purchases online. I like that I can buy clothes online because I am able to do research on the quality of the fabrics and also buy from sellers or brands that I don’t have access to locally. Also, as mentioned by Nationwide, as someone who is relatively busy, I can appreciate the convenience of online shopping as well. I can save time on meals by ordering meal preps, or go for a store pickup so that I can spend that time doing other errands or chores. As someone who also has family that lives far away, online shopping is also helpful not only for the variety of things to choose from in order to give the perfect gift, but I can also order it and send it to their address, which is very convenient.

There is definitely a balance where both forms of shopping can exist in harmony and benefit a person’s life. For example, being mindful of online purchases can begin by being aware of what we are mentally consuming online. Taking into consideration whether the purchase is meant to soothe feelings of inferiority to others online, or if it’s meant to improve our lives is a good step towards preventing purchases that will be regretted in the future. In-person shopping still, of course, has its benefits that online shopping can’t replace, such as picking out the freshest groceries and getting those purchases immediately instead of having to wait days or even weeks for it to arrive at home. As long mindfulness is practiced, and we feel that it is adding to our lives rather than dragging it down, both forms of shopping can have a place.

Works Cited

“Online Shopping vs. In-Store Shopping: Pros and Cons.” Nationwide. 23 May, 2024.

https://blog.nationwide.com/my-money/shopping-online-vs-in-store/ Accessed 5 Feb. 2026.

Pellegrino, Alfonso et al. “The Dark Side of Social Media: Content Effects on the Relationship Between Materialism and Consumption Behaviors.” National Library of Medicine.18 April, 2022. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9096894/ Accessed 5 Feb. 2026.