Drugstore Removes Books and Magazines

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The drugstore covered books and magazines in 2020, when Covid-19 hit us. 
Now it has removed them completely.

We are reading less and watching videos more. I think about it from time to time but the reality hit me on Monday. Where is the book and magazine aisle? It has been here for years. Gone. The drugstore has eliminated reading material.

I was not hallucinating. I remember that aisle in 2020 when COVID-19 hit the airwaves and changed our lives forever. Stores sealed off aisles with products that were not regarded as essential. That drugstore decided books and magazine were not, so it erected a curtain over them.

From curtain to the grave, that is the story of books and magazines in that drugstore. It is a chain, so probably all branches have eliminated them.

Sad as it is, it is a business decision. The drugstore is losing money because we seldom buy books and magazines. Why should we? They are free online. We also buy e-books which are cheaper than conventional books. Another reason is that books are taxing mentally.

That is why we prefer YouTube, Tik Tok and social media videos. We are also enthralled by another form of ‘video’: texting and chatting, time we previously used to pick up a book.

The internet has made life easier. We don’t wreck our brains trying to figure out messages in books and magazines. We click on a video and life becomes beautiful.

By: Nonqaba waka Msimang. 

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