There are even entire websites dedicated to the “my” principle of customization. On many websites, there seems to be a persistent need to offer visitors the option of personalization, of their own “special place” within the labyrinth of the larger structure, much like a creatively decorated cubicle. In this way, we know that soon, it will physically be in our (my) possession.īut the “my” phenomenon isn’t entirely limited to the pragmatic realm of business transactions. “This is in your imaginary cart now,” it assures us. In all fairness, the “My” feature is mostly based in practicality it’s used as a means of managing account information, or as a virtual representation of a physical purchase. Cheese birthday party gone wrong, but mostly, I just ignored it and went on with My Life. I might have idly wondered why so many adult transactions were being made to sound like a Chuck E. Sure, at some point I may have felt mildly silly clicking on “MyEbay” in order to track auctions in progress, or using “My Amazon” to assess the items in My Cart. The cutesy, infantilized “my” of Internet customization is one of those phenomena which, for many people, is vaguely noticed without warranting much focused scrutiny. As they tirelessly volleyed “ My Beanie Baby”, I noticed that I was clicking on a rather whiny icon in which I laid claim to “ My UPS.” And, unlike my nearby friends who were bitterly contesting issues of ownership while soiling their pull-ups, I wasn’t even being challenged on the matter. And like toddlers, UPS tracking tends to lie shamelessly.īut after listening to the grievances aired between these tykes while entering my pi-length tracking number, another similarity jumped out at me, one that all of a sudden felt embarrassing. Neither of these are especially enjoyable activities for me both tend to involve an inordinate amount of frustration, a complete breakdown in anything remotely resembling logic, and an ultimately unsatisfactory resolution. Recently, in a grotesque example of modern multitasking, I found myself tracking a UPS package on my laptop while simultaneously witnessing an argument between toddlers.