OPINION

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By Johnny White

A day of satisfaction, frustration, joy, and anger. Every year, on the Friday after Thanksgiving, millions of Americans put their lives on hold and make the dangerous trek to the nearest shopping centers. Wallets and purses in hand, they invade their local Best Buys, Apple Stores, and Walmarts, as underpaid employees fear for their lives. 

Photo credit: Zignal Labs.

Black Friday has marked the beginning of every Christmas shopping season since 1952, and some Americans have a love-hate relationship with the day. According to the International Council of Shopping Centers, Black Friday has been the busiest shopping day of the year in the United States since 2005, despite not being recognized as an official holiday. 

Over 165 million people go shopping on Black Friday, but I can assure you that I am not, and never will be, one of them. The traffic, overcrowded stores, arguments, and brawls make the day of lousy deals simply not worth the trouble. It’s an overrated day, and I prefer to watch others, including my family, endure the struggles that come along with it from the comfort of my home. 

Many students are not fans of Black Friday and use moral and environmental arguments to support their opinions. Carter Owen (‘20) said, “The mass consumption of materialistic items is not sustainable for the environment.” He takes the same side as an article by Annabelle Timsit in Quartz magazine about the environmental impacts of Black Friday: “Millions of shoppers buy and then discard smartphones and TVs, for example, contributing to the 50 million tons of electronic waste that the world produces each year, which leaks toxic chemicals like lead and mercury into the soil. Meanwhile items delivered to your door in one business day or less puts more diesel-using trucks on the ground and polluting ships on the water.” Over 165 million vehicles hitting the streets throughout the day creates traffic jams, pollution, and gas emissions, which are all obviously harmful to the environment.  

Other students have more simple reasons to why they don’t like the day. Milan Mehta (‘20) said, “I think it’s a big waste. Not everybody needs the items they buy on Black Friday.” Marshall Campbell (‘20) thinks that “Online shopping makes the day obsolete.”

Emma Williams (‘20) said, “I think it’s contradictory of Thanksgiving, because Thanksgiving is all about giving, but then all hell breaks loose on Black Friday, and a lot of people act selfish.” 

Christmas can be a very materialistic holiday, and Thanksgiving provides a good balance when families come together and be thankful for what they have. Unfortunately, Black Friday contradicts everything we celebrate during Thanksgiving, providing an opportunity for people to focus on themselves and what they want. The mostly peaceful family holiday quickly turns into a day for selfish shoppers. 

Similar to me, Upper School history teacher Dr. Brian Ross prefers to stay away from the chaos. He said, “I avoid Black Friday. I go and find a peaceful spot where I can read and contemplate anything but shopping.”

Not only is shopping on Black Friday not worth the time, but you could also be involved in the many violent fights that occur in a struggle to claim limited items.

WARNING: This video contains video footage of adults brawling for discounts as low as 30%.

Others, however, enjoy the day. My sister Ellie White (‘15) is an avid Black Friday shopper: “I think Black Friday is a really fun day. I always enjoy joining in on the madness for one day out of the year. I’m a firm believer to go after what you want, so if I had my eyes on that new flat screen TV coming out at Best Buy, you better believe I’d be at the front of that line at 6 a.m., as soon as the doors open.” 

Jack Dillon (‘20) believes that Black Friday should actually be longer. He said, “I think that Black Friday should last two days, so that everyone has time to buy good Christmas gifts.”

While there are good arguments for both sides of why and why not to participate in Black Friday shopping, if you only support it for the deals, there is a perfect solution to avoid the madness. What if there was a way to match or increase deals, not have to deal with long lines of other customers, and have a more abundant amount of items to purchase all from your couch? Cyber Monday provides the most practical form of discount shopping, and in my opinion is far superior to the outdated “Black Friday.”