Doordash Is The Sign of a Dying Society

By Olivia Soule

In the last twenty years, widespread internet access has made consuming goods and services exponentially faster and more convenient. Mall trips with friends have morphed into the “Buy Now” button on Amazon, and family grocery trips are a relic of the past due to the rise of Instacart. We are so accustomed to the instant gratification of online shopping that the pleasure of going out to stores and restaurants is lost entirely. Any average person on any average Thursday night can order a meal to their front door in less than an hour. Though this sounds wonderful in theory, we have traveled beyond Chinese takeout and pizza delivery and into dangerous territory. It is not only possible but now commonplace to order all basic necessities straight to the hands of consumers at lightning speed. We are growing evermore reliant on corporations in our daily lives, and our expectations for the convenience of these services are getting out of hand.

During the Covid-19 shutdown, food delivery services such as Doordash grew extremely popular, and for good reason, as consumers were able to enjoy their favorite fast food restaurant without anxiety over potential exposure to coronavirus. No-contact delivery options made it possible for people to receive a meal at their door without interacting with another person. This was a wonderful resource to utilize during the pandemic, especially for sick or immunocompromised people, however, the continued use of these services raises concerns about a culture that values convenience over community and connection. 

Doordash charges 15-36% of an order’s total in delivery fees, meaning that a $15 McDonald’s order could cost a person up to $20 if they choose to have the meal delivered, not including a customary tip for the delivery driver. It seems ridiculous that a person would choose to pay that much more for fast food just to avoid going through the drive through themselves. When eating inside a restaurant and picking up food personally, the cost is reduced and the food is more fresh. Unless a person is absolutely unable to go to a restaurant, there is no sensible reason for preferring delivery.

The popularity of Doordash and similar services reflects a culture that is insistent upon constant work. Taking breaks from the fast pace of daily life to sit down for a meal is unfortunately uncommon. Meal times provide opportunities to build relationships, to find moments of peace and gratitude, and for self care. The daily ritual of reflection and kinship through shared meals is reduced to an inconvenient distraction from the constant motion of the day.

The typical American routine revolves around multitasking and time maximization. Capitalistic competitiveness has seeped into every corner of American life, thus pushing out the prioritization of rest and community. Food delivery services are often used due to lack of time in the day to prepare food or the refusal to pause work and pick up food. As humans, self care and relationship building are both essential elements of life, and mealtimes are valuable daily opportunities to practice one or both of these. The hyper-convenience of Doordash makes it too easy to overlook the sacredness of breaking bread and pass up daily opportunities for rest and community building. 

Frequent food delivery also has a negative impact on health. Restaurant food, especially fast food, is often less nutritious than food made at home, and the extreme accessibility of this food encourages mindless eating. More importantly, the practice of avoiding social interaction is extremely damaging to one’s mental and emotional health, and it is proven that children born during the pandemic have lower average IQs than children born at other times. This is a direct result of their limited social exposure in places like schools, stores, and restaurants, all of which were closed down during their formative years.

Although adults are not as vulnerable to the effects of limited social interaction as babies are, the effect on children amplifies the importance of social interaction to our health as humans. The pandemic created a population that is more socially anxious, so the market for no-contact consuming experiences is larger than ever. Companies like Doordash, Amazon, and Instacart are taking advantage of these common social anxieties and are capitalizing on the stunted emotional and social growth of the new generation.

If you have ever been cooped up in your house all day, you know the strange feeling of finally dragging yourself out into the real world. It is so necessary to spend time outside, move your body, and interact with the world beyond the comfort of your own home. Due to delivery services, it is now possible for people to spend an indefinite amount of time not leaving the confines of their home. Because this industry is actively expanding, it is reasonable to question how far it will go. 

The Pixar film Wall-E explores this very issue of a market in which every need or desire is hyper-convenient. Obviously, the movie takes the concept of mindless consumption to an extreme, creating a dystopian society in which all humans recline in floating chairs and are served by robots. However, we are becoming less mindful as consumers, losing our autonomy and growing exponentially more dependent on corporations.  The sacrifices we are willing to make and prices we are willing to pay for the convenience of delivery is amplifying our dependency on companies like Doordash and bringing us one step closer to a Wall-E -esque society.