Shopping online: is it all it is cracked up to be?

2013-12-05

With Christmas just around the corner people all across the UK are frantically looking for that perfect festive gift for friends and family. Nowadays, this is not necessarily done on high streets up and down the land as it was 10 or so years ago, instead, we turn to the internet- surprise surprise!

Living in Italy means buying and sending the perfect gift back home to my family is no mean feat. So, to lighten the load, two years ago I decided to do all my buying online, using Amazon UK. Everything worked like clockwork, a fig tree for my aunt, a picnic hamper for my sister and a bee house for my uncle were all wrapped and delivered at the touch of a button. Perfect! Or is it?

Online shopping has had an impact on the retail industry in the UK and many other parts of the developed world. Is it the same in Japan? The benefits of buying online seem to outweigh any negative aspects! Or do they?

I'd like you to watch this short documentary by Panorama for the BBC. It looks at the story of an Amazon worker in Wales and details the hidden life of a modern day slave.

Panorama - Amazon: The Truth Behind the Click
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXWJ4GfQ22E
(Time: 28.50)

After watching please answer the following questions:

•Do you agree with the idea that many factory workers nowadays are actually modern day slaves? If so, in what way?

•What are the physical and mental risks associated with working at Amazon UK warehouses?

•What are the knock-on-effects of online shopping for local communities and further afield? What does the expression “If you can't beat them, join them” mean?

•Some may say that Adam's job is a “life of luxury” compared to factory workers' conditions in the past and current conditions in developing nations. What do you think?

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