Things that get to me
I spend a lot of time staring at screens—on my computer, my TV, or my Android phone—scrolling through news feeds, watching YouTube videos, playing games, or viewing countless Facebook Lives. (What else is there to do during a lockdown?)
Hence, I endure countless ads for products or services, most of which I will never buy. They pop up in the middle of a 10-minute Facebook Watch comedy performance by Dave Chappelle or a 5-minute video of adorable puppies at play.
News articles on my phone have so many ads that invariably I click on one by accident. Ugh!
Most maddening is the fact that there is no one to whom I can complain or no customer service number to register my displeasure.
Annoying ads, however, are not the only thing that raise my blood pressure (if only by a point or two). Below is a mixed bag of other (probably silly) annoyances that test my patience.
To measure the degree of my frustration, I created a point system:
1 point: slightly annoyed; 2 points: rolling my eyes; 3 points: wondering why; 4 points: ready to scream; 5 points: pulling out my hair.
Some culprits:
Websites that require creating an account when you just want to peruse content. (3)
Customer service lines that ask for identifying information before you can talk to a rep to ask a general question. (3)
Television commentators or anchors who “explain” events that we have just witnessed (e.g., the Capitol insurrection). (1)
Female characters who demand that their male counterparts, “Do something!” when confronted with danger, or TV/movie wives who resent their husband’s time away from family even though the nature of his job (e.g., detective or FBI agent) requires being on call 24/7. (2)
Commercials for stores, businesses, or banks that depict smiling, friendly clerks or phone reps or tellers eager to assist. Seldom do these depictions match customers’ real-life experiences. (2)
Bank-to-bank money transfers that take 2-5 business days or online banks that randomly require a security code for routine transactions that that normally do not need additional authentication. (4)
Refunds that take 14-45 days to hit your bank account while debits can happen in minutes. (3)
Movies or TV shows that depict one-dimensional images of (angry) black activists (e.g., Black Panthers) without any historical context. (4)
Do any of these resonate with you? How many points would you give to each? Do you have a list of your own?
If you are thinking that I should spend more time on productive endeavors, I can assure you that I do, but that does not stop me from recognizing the minor absurdities of every day living.
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