Given the opportunities presented in the “Big Apple,” New Yorkers online shop far too much. With more access to stores than in other cities and towns, it would make sense for those in New York City to go out shopping at the thousands of stores and shops rather than ordering online. Alas, there are “2.4 million packages delivered in this city every single weekday.” The amount of deliveries has grown a lot in past years, as a total of 1.1 million packages were delivered in the year 2017 and 1.5 million in 2019. In 2019, however, there were 32,600 stores in New York City. So why aren’t New Yorkers taking advantage of the amount of stores that are easily accessible within walking distance? They should see the privilege of their unique ability to walk to a store, rather than having to drive, spending money on transportation, to pick up groceries, clothing or other necessities and luxury items. Even if walking is not suitable, public transportation is another way to navigate the city to a store of one’s choice.
And that’s not to say that we Rams don’t add to this epidemic either. This can be seen in the overwhelming state of the Fordham Post Office, as a long line of students waits to pick up their packages every day. Or in the Amazon boxes around campus; students are unable to order their packages there because they are full.
Online shopping is a privilege; it lets us click a few buttons and then have our package show up at our doorstep (or campus) a few days or weeks later. Some may call it laziness, some may call it resourcefulness. But online shopping is becoming a problem because it is adding to rising global temperatures.
This is because of the delivery system. Dozens of deliveries create lots of waste with the packaging that may lay on the side of the streets, inspired by laziness, just like the choice of online shopping rather than taking an excursion. Not all empty packages are recycled, creating more wasteful trash. Along with this immense amount of leftover trash, deliveries also clog up the streets with trucks. And with the narrower streets of New York City, other vehicles may not be able to pass, thus creating traffic, which wastes gas and emits more fumes. Deliveries are also a problem because of the emissions. The air quality in New York City is already notoriously inadequate; it is recommended to wear masks due to the harmful air pollution. Emissions from city congestion are estimated to rise 32% by 2030. This will create a physically more toxic environment, the air quality becoming worse for our lungs and bad for the earth.
Online shopping became even more popular during the pandemic, as online sales increased by 43% from 2019 to 2020. The pandemic was a great time to shop online, but it is a habit that we must stop now that the earth is being negatively affected by it — and also because we no longer have the valid excuse of not shopping in person because of the immense health risks that were present in 2020 and 2021.
Did we become lazy after the pandemic? It became more of a struggle to leave the house or leave the building after many months of not — I know that it was for me. But we must realize that online shopping is having negative consequences that will and are leading to fatalistic effects. Unless what you need is niche and not available in stores, you should take advantage of the city. New York City is a tourist destination, and one of those attractions is simply to shop. So why don’t we New Yorkers take advantage of this privilege?
If you are based in Manhattan or have classes there, I urge you to shop while in the city; there are a multitude of stores around to choose from, and surely one of them will have what you need. For Rose Hill students, instead of ordering groceries to be delivered to Fordham, walk over to Walgreens or Target. Walgreens is only a three-minute walk from the gate, and though Target is farther away, it saves a lot of gas emissions, as the traffic on Fordham Road is already unfavorable. And instead of ordering food on campus, explore the many restaurants on Fordham Road, Arthur Ave. and the surrounding streets. We have a lot of resources in the Bronx to use that will suffice over an online order.
Ceasing to online shop will not save the world, but it will cause less damage to it. It is difficult to undo what has already been done, but now we must attempt to prevent further harm. Yes, shopping in person will force us to be less lazy, but it will also be a step towards treating our earth more kindly so that future generations will be able to live in peace.
Sophie Maselli, FCRH ’26, is an English major from Milford, Conn.
