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“Moscow on the Hudson” is a 1984 popular movie starring Robin Williams as a Russian musician who defects while on a visit to the United States. You see him shopping in a supermarket and almost having a nervous breakdown in the coffee aisle because of the vast amount of brands and qualities displayed.
That's the so called Overchoice Syndrome. It occurs when too much variety increases complexity and the choosing experience for an individual item within a large assortment causes disorientation, disaffection, demotivation, and the anxiety of making the wrong choice. Be it products, services, information or opportunities.
You start thinking: this choice is good but probably another is better, so what’s next? Expectations have been inflated to such an extent that you are led to think that the perfect choice exists and a feeling of discontent grows. You keep asking: is this really the best I can do?
Someone becomes obsessed about finding the right choice. Others become superficial and end up “picking” instead of “choosing”. Others even delay or opt out any decision at the end.
A great help comes from brands with their credibility or from one’s own expertise and prior understanding of the options, as a detailed knowledge is required in more and more cases. But if you are completely unaware, or just poorly informed, even looking for simple and reliable information has become dramatically hard and frustrating now, because of a similar abundance of sources. Once there were just clerks and magazines to help you, now you have blogs, forums, peer-to-peer recommendations, comments, likes, Youtube video tutorials, Yahoo Answers, automatic playlists, endless of other UGCs, cheap instant books “for dummies”, thematic channels show experts, you name it! But you only need someone (or something) you can trust and ask for help, but without the worry of losing control of your decisions. Smartboxes are an enlightening example and seem to be created to this very end: you buy a list of possibilities someone has already slimmed down for you to ease your choice.
Yet, we exaggerate sometimes. Meal Deals you find in supermarkets are a convenient option for an outdoor everyday British-style lunch. From a well advertised shelf you just mix a sandwich, crisps – or a chocolate bar – and a drink and that’s it. But then, would you take everything home and eat it on your kitchen table? I wouldn't, but French do! In spite of their gourmet reputation. It’s “My Formule Midi”. It comes in boxes, it is frozen and it contains a starter, poultry (in three different recipes) and a dessert. All you have to do is place the main course in the microwave for a couple of minutes. You don’t even need to decide which dish to take out of the cupboard or what cutlery set to use: it’s all included!
No doubt: if you’re looking for a stress reliving solution, that's your best choice... Or not? You could also click for something on Just Eat. Or visit Foodora. Or phone the nearest kebab house and order a home delivery. Or walk to the pub down the road for a quick sandwich and pint. Or have a saucy Somethingburger Menu at McDonald's. Or behave and cross the road to the bio-vegan-vegetarian cafe for a healthy mix salad. Or try the newly opened sushi all-you-can-eat buffet round the corner. Or take away a pizza and share your crumbs with the squirrels in the park. Or call a friend for a proper dinner out at a good restaurant. Or you can... Difficult choice, isn't it?
