Dancing Dollars
Algorithmic Assault on Affordability
The good ol’ days of fixed prices are gone. Welcome to the age of surge pricing, where the numbers on price tags dance more than the digits on a gas station board.
This is the world Uber introduced us to. A sprinkle of rain turns a budget-friendly ride home into a ”say goodbye to your savings” safari.
“Oh, you need to get somewhere dry? That’ll be twice the price, my friend.”
Booking a flight was as simple as choosing a destination and a date. Not anymore. You’ve got to time it just right, avoid school holidays as if they’re asteroids, and pray to the aviation gods that there isn’t a sudden surge in demand for a seat to Ibiza.
Online shopping was a simple affair. Find what you want and click ‘Add to Cart’. But that new blender you just added to your cart? Refresh the page and suddenly it’s a collector’s item.
Food delivery apps have also joined. Craving for sushi on a Friday night? That’ll now come with a side of ‘peak time charge’. Even the ski resorts have caught on.
So what do we do now?
Here’s what I do.
I become a digital ninja trying to outsmart the system.
With VPNs, I change my virtual location as if I’m a cybersecurity expert, all to trick the algorithm into thinking I’m not a sun-starved soul in desperate need of a beach holiday.
But not just that. I go all the way.
I clear the cookies as if I’m on a diet. I use the incognito tab as if it makes a difference. I avoid searching for flights on my iPhone because somehow, the algorithm knows. “Oh, an iPhone user? They can afford it.” (Except we don’t, we spent all our money on that exact iPhone.)
And when I finally snag that deal, saving a whopping four dollars after hours of digital time-wasting, I genuinely feel like a financial guru.
Never mind that the VPN subscription we got just for these moments of victory costs me fifteen dollars a month.
It’s the principle of the thing. I beat the system. I won.
Except, did I?
Somehow I can’t help but wonder if the game is rigged.
—
Rod
