I choose to go to the human cashier at the grocery store. I'm opting for more human interaction.

The author (not pictured) chooses human interaction over self-checkout at the grocery store.

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• I stopped using self-checkout to reclaim small moments of human connection.
• Choosing a cashier made me rethink loneliness and daily social habits.
• Brief conversations at the grocery store changed how I see community.

I was initially resistant to the self-checkout kiosks at my local grocery store when they were introduced a few years ago.