While grocery shopping at their local supermarket, one shopper was stunned to turn down an aisle and encounter a wall of bright LED screens.
Despite appearances, it wasn't a TV aisle. It was a new way of displaying refrigerated foods.
They posted a photo of the screens on Reddit, which promptly sparked outrage and disgust from commenters.
"If only there was a material you could use to be able to see what's in there without opening the doors," one person said sarcastically.
Others had encountered the dystopian displays themselves. "These have been in Vegas for a while now and half of the displays are broken and just showing a black surface with employee-placed papers over them describing what's behind the opaque doors," one person lamented.
"I thoroughly hate these things," wrote another, who pointed out that they waste significant amounts of electricity.
"The energy and resource cost to manufacture these things also needs mentioning," another person mentioned.
When it comes to energy efficiency and customer preference, it's nearly unthinkable that anybody would prefer an LED screen to standard glass cases. Given that, it's easy to wonder why stores would opt for the screens, and commenters had a cynical, albeit accurate, take on the matter.
"These things are a nightmare some marketing consultant thought would be a good idea," one person said bluntly. "In practice they are wasteful, annoying to use, and they end up making it more difficult for consumers to find and purchase what they want."
"Ah, but they can sell and run advertisements on the LED screens," another person pointed out grimly.
The tendency to optimize every inch of available space for attention-grabbing advertisements has been a thorn in many people's sides for years. From the sides of trucks to the insides of bathroom stalls, it seems no place is safe from becoming a beacon of consumerism.
But this isn't just annoying; it's downright harmful. A world obsessed with generating and buying new items is a world that will drown itself in garbage. We're already seeing these trends around the world, as billions of tons of waste pile into landfills and the ocean every single year.
Instead, shopping for only what you will actually use and ignoring the illuminated lure of unnecessary products will keep the planet less clogged for a more beautiful future.
Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Cool Picks
