Buy, swap and devolve

Barter has long been central to the evolution of our species and the civilisations they subsequently built. From trading vital resources between tribes, right up to Steve Kerrigan picking up a second hand rifle (in exchange for currency, I presume) from the Trading Post, which he then used to intimidate an unwanted door-knocker in the Aussie cult classic, The Castle.

Fast-forward to the internet age: The Trading Post - whilst not gone - has released it's foothold as the premier platform for person-to-person bartering. The Trading Post, like many other platforms, has found a home online, as print becomes less and less effective as a tool for selling.

With the evolution of the internet, and just about everything becoming immediately more accessible, some fantastic platforms for trade have sprung up. From Craigslist and Gumtree selling anything and everything, to niche sites for anything you could ever dream of (carsales, russianbrides etc) - if it's for sale, you can find it online.

The next evolution of online bartering tagged along with the social media juggernaut, and I for one have finally come to the conclusion (see, this is a learning, not just a rant) that the Buy, Swap and Sell (BSS) pages on Facebook are breeding grounds for laziness and basic human stupidity.

In it's simplest essence, I could scroll through the feed for my local areas BSS and it'd read like an unfiltered Gumtree page. This would be good, since sometimes I don't know what I want until I see it. Dart board for $30, and it's only 15 minutes away? Sure, why the fuck not! This is unfortunately not the BSS reality.

BSS has spawned a subculture of the laziest breed of human. Who would ever have imagined a day where Googling something was too hard? I certainly never did. It's my homepage, results are instant, and there's thousands of eggheads working around-the-clock at Google to ensure my results are more relevant than ever. Apparently this isn't good enough for the mouth-breathers I refer to.

No. Instead of simply using Google, or perhaps engaging the recall function in what's left of your meth-addled brain, you log onto your local Facebook BSS page, and punch out a grammatically vacant, spelling-error infested request for information on the MOST BASIC OF QUESTIONS. "Any1 no were I get can *insert service here* in town?" Just fucking Google it.

Ok, so I understand that it's actually quite useful to place "wanted to buy" ads online if you're searching for something oddly specific, or only available on the second hand market. Seeking recommendations is also a different story, and I understand the value in seeking the local market's opinion on where to shop for specific things.

Word of advice (if you can read) to those of you out there guilty of such social infractions: as a general rule, if you can find the answer on Google, don't fucking post it on a BSS page. For the love of all that is sacred, just don't. The next person to simultaneously butcher the English language whilst trying to figure out "where I can get me laaawwwwwnmower serviced" should lay down flat and allow a loved one to run said lawnmower over their head.

I also just learned that I need to get off the internet. Perhaps go outside a little more often.