Shopping cart theory


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In 2017, an article was published by anthropologist Krystal D'Costa in ''[[Scientific American]]'', titled "Why Don't People Return Their Shopping Carts?"<ref name=D'Costa>{{cite web|last=D'Costa|first=Krystal|url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/anthropology-in-practice/why-dont-people-return-their-shopping-carts/|title=Why Don't People Return Their Shopping Carts?|work=[[Scientific American]]|date=April 26, 2017|accessdate=June 7, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Hayes|first=Stephanie|url=https://www.tampabay.com/opinion/2022/07/15/do-you-return-your-shopping-cart-or-do-you-choose-chaos/|title=Do you return your shopping cart, or do you choose chaos?|title=Do you return your shopping cart, or do you choose chaos?|work=[[Tampa Bay Times]]|date=July 15, 2022|accessdate=June 7, 2024}}</ref>

In 2017, an article was published by anthropologist Krystal D'Costa in ''[[Scientific American]]'', titled "Why Don't People Return Their Shopping Carts?"<ref name=D'Costa>{{cite web|last=D'Costa|first=Krystal|url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/anthropology-in-practice/why-dont-people-return-their-shopping-carts/|title=Why Don't People Return Their Shopping Carts?|work=[[Scientific American]]|date=April 26, 2017|accessdate=June 7, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Hayes|first=Stephanie|url=https://www.tampabay.com/opinion/2022/07/15/do-you-return-your-shopping-cart-or-do-you-choose-chaos/|title=Do you return your shopping cart, or do you choose chaos?|title=Do you return your shopping cart, or do you choose chaos?|work=[[Tampa Bay Times]]|date=July 15, 2022|accessdate=June 7, 2024}}</ref>


Writing about the concept in 2021, ''[[New York Times]]'' writer Christine Hauser cited a [[Reddit]] post that itself displays a [[4chan]] thread comment from May 2020.<ref name=Hauser>{{cite web|last=Hauser|first=Christine|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/08/style/shopping-cart-parking-lot.html|title=Everyone Has a Theory About Shopping Carts|work=[[New York Times]]|date=June 8, 2021|url-access=subscription|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210608142119/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/08/style/shopping-cart-parking-lot.html|archive-date=June 8, 2021}}</ref> In 2024, [[CBC.ca]] writer Natalie Stechyson also linked to the Reddit post.<ref name=Stechyson>{{cite web|last=Stechyson|first=Natalie|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/return-grocery-cart-video-1.7225111|title=Do you return your grocery cart? A viral video ignited debate over this common courtesy|website=[[CBC.ca]]|date=June 5, 2024|accessdate=June 7, 2024}}</ref>

The "shopping cart theory" meme originates from a May 2020 [[4chan]] post. Nate Rogers of ''[[The Ringer (website)|The Ringer]]'' wrote that the post "explains in clinical, unwavering terms the massive stakes of" returning the shopping cart.<ref>{{cite web|last=Rogers|first=Nate|url=https://www.theringer.com/pop-culture/2023/8/10/23825135/cart-narc-shopping-cart-theory-instagram-youtube|title=Think You're a Good Person? That's Up to the Cart Narc and His Camera.|work=[[The Ringer (website)|The Ringer]]|date=August 10, 2023|accessdate=June 7, 2024}}</ref> Media writers have written that the post circulated online in 2020, becoming popular on [[Reddit]] and other websites, while also becoming a point of debate.<ref name=Hauser>{{cite web|last=Hauser|first=Christine|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/08/style/shopping-cart-parking-lot.html|title=Everyone Has a Theory About Shopping Carts|work=[[New York Times]]|date=June 8, 2021|url-access=subscription|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210608142119/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/08/style/shopping-cart-parking-lot.html|archive-date=June 8, 2021}}</ref><ref name=Stechyson>{{cite web|last=Stechyson|first=Natalie|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/return-grocery-cart-video-1.7225111|title=Do you return your grocery cart? A viral video ignited debate over this common courtesy|website=[[CBC.ca]]|date=June 5, 2024|accessdate=June 7, 2024}}</ref>


Positing that the shopping cart presents a litmus test for a person's capability of self-governing, the original poster further asserted that returning a cart to its designated deposit or rack is "objectively right".<ref name=Wolforth>{{cite web|last=Wolforth|first=Ron|url=https://www.texasbaseballranch.com/blog/the-shopping-cart-theory/|title= The Shopping Cart Theory|website=Texas Baseball Ranch|accessdate=June 7, 2024}}</ref> Ultimately, the poster stated that the "shopping cart is what determines whether a person is a good or bad member of society."<ref>{{cite web|last=Deckers|first=Eric|url=https://www.pendletontimespost.com/2022/12/15/santa-should-adopt-the-shopping-cart-theory/|title=Erik Deckers: Santa should adopt the shopping cart theory |work=Pendleton Times Post|date=December 15, 2022|accessdate=June 7, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Cox|first=Mike|url=https://www.thecolumbiastar.com/articles/the-shopping-cart-theory/|title= The Shopping Cart Theory|work=The Columbia Star|date=July 14, 2022|accessdate=June 7, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Joseph|first=Jisha|url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/opinion/the-shopping-cart-theory-supposedly-determines-who-is-a-good-person-and-who-isn-t/ar-AA1nnlHw|title=The 'shopping cart theory' supposedly determines who is a good person and who isn't|work=Scoop Unworthy|via=[[MSN]]|date=April 20, 2024|orig-date=May 20, 2020|accessdate=June 7, 2024}}</ref>

Positing that the shopping cart presents a litmus test for a person's capability of self-governing, the original poster further asserted that returning a cart to its designated deposit or rack is "objectively right".<ref name=Wolforth>{{cite web|last=Wolforth|first=Ron|url=https://www.texasbaseballranch.com/blog/the-shopping-cart-theory/|title= The Shopping Cart Theory|website=Texas Baseball Ranch|accessdate=June 7, 2024}}</ref> Ultimately, the poster stated that the "shopping cart is what determines whether a person is a good or bad member of society."<ref>{{cite web|last=Deckers|first=Eric|url=https://www.pendletontimespost.com/2022/12/15/santa-should-adopt-the-shopping-cart-theory/|title=Erik Deckers: Santa should adopt the shopping cart theory |work=Pendleton Times Post|date=December 15, 2022|accessdate=June 7, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Cox|first=Mike|url=https://www.thecolumbiastar.com/articles/the-shopping-cart-theory/|title= The Shopping Cart Theory|work=The Columbia Star|date=July 14, 2022|accessdate=June 7, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Joseph|first=Jisha|url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/opinion/the-shopping-cart-theory-supposedly-determines-who-is-a-good-person-and-who-isn-t/ar-AA1nnlHw|title=The 'shopping cart theory' supposedly determines who is a good person and who isn't|work=Scoop Unworthy|via=[[MSN]]|date=April 20, 2024|orig-date=May 20, 2020|accessdate=June 7, 2024}}</ref>


==Virality and responses==

==Virality and responses==

Revision as of 20:30, 7 June 2024

An example of a designated area to return shopping carts

The shopping cart theory is a social phenomenon which assesses a person's "goodness", depending on if they return a shopping cart to its designated deposit area. Studies on such behavior have been conducted, though the concept became viral online after a 2020 Internet meme which posits that shopping carts present "the ultimate litmus test for whether a person is capable of self-governing."[1][2]

Background and meme

In 2017, an article was published by anthropologist Krystal D'Costa in Scientific American, titled "Why Don't People Return Their Shopping Carts?"[3][4]

The "shopping cart theory" meme originates from a May 2020 4chan post. Nate Rogers of The Ringer wrote that the post "explains in clinical, unwavering terms the massive stakes of" returning the shopping cart.[5] Media writers have written that the post circulated online in 2020, becoming popular on Reddit and other websites, while also becoming a point of debate.[6][7]

Positing that the shopping cart presents a litmus test for a person's capability of self-governing, the original poster further asserted that returning a cart to its designated deposit or rack is "objectively right".[8] Ultimately, the poster stated that the "shopping cart is what determines whether a person is a good or bad member of society."[9][10][11]

Virality and responses

D'Costas stated that her Scientific American article "struck a nerve" in a follow-up; on the magazine's Facebook page "some said they were afraid to leave children unattended, or struggled with a disability, or feared making someone's job obsolete".[6]

In 2024, the shopping cart theory experienced further virality online after Leslie Dobson, a TikTok user detailed why they do not return the carts, defending their refusal to do so.[2][12] A clinical and forensic psychologist, Dobson stated her concern of leaving her child unattended in order to return the cart.[2][7] This reason was concurrent with a common reason mentioned by the 2017 Scientific American article.[1] Dobson's video received over 11 million views and received considerable backlash, though she also received messages from users who agreed with her stance, stating they were too afraid to discuss their opinion online themselves.[7][13]

References

  1. ^ a b Lewis, Barry (August 20, 2021). "Barry Lewis: Shopping cart mayhem and civil society". Times Herald-Record. Retrieved June 7, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c Encinas, Amaris (June 5, 2024). "'You can judge me all you want': California mom's refusal to return shopping cart goes viral". USA Today. Retrieved June 7, 2024.
  3. ^ D'Costa, Krystal (April 26, 2017). "Why Don't People Return Their Shopping Carts?". Scientific American. Retrieved June 7, 2024.
  4. ^ Hayes, Stephanie (July 15, 2022). "Do you return your shopping cart, or do you choose chaos?". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved June 7, 2024.
  5. ^ Rogers, Nate (August 10, 2023). "Think You're a Good Person? That's Up to the Cart Narc and His Camera". The Ringer. Retrieved June 7, 2024.
  6. ^ a b Hauser, Christine (June 8, 2021). "Everyone Has a Theory About Shopping Carts". New York Times. Archived from the original on June 8, 2021.
  7. ^ a b c Stechyson, Natalie (June 5, 2024). "Do you return your grocery cart? A viral video ignited debate over this common courtesy". CBC.ca. Retrieved June 7, 2024.
  8. ^ Wolforth, Ron. "The Shopping Cart Theory". Texas Baseball Ranch. Retrieved June 7, 2024.
  9. ^ Deckers, Eric (December 15, 2022). "Erik Deckers: Santa should adopt the shopping cart theory". Pendleton Times Post. Retrieved June 7, 2024.
  10. ^ Cox, Mike (July 14, 2022). "The Shopping Cart Theory". The Columbia Star. Retrieved June 7, 2024.
  11. ^ Joseph, Jisha (April 20, 2024) [May 20, 2020]. "The 'shopping cart theory' supposedly determines who is a good person and who isn't". Scoop Unworthy. Retrieved June 7, 2024 – via MSN.
  12. ^ Sjoberg (May 31, 2024). "'You can judge me all you want': Trader Joe's customer says you shouldn't return shopping carts". The Daily Dot. Retrieved June 7, 2024.
  13. ^ Fry, Hannah (June 3, 2024). "Do you return your shopping cart? A psychologist's answer on TikTok enraged thousands". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 7, 2024.