Dupe culture is exploiting the work of small businesses, placing an emphasis on quantity over quality and discounting the creativity and individuality behind products today. Without the ability to counter low prices from brands like Zara, Shein or Temu, all attempts to price-compete seem futile.

Why are consumers responsible for paying these charges? And why is there such a great reliance on tips as opposed to restructuring the system so that employers bear the cost?

I open my settings app to Screen Time. four hours and two minutes, it reads. Yet as I count the individual app usage — one hour and 12 minutes on Messages, 36 minutes on Instagram, 27 minutes on Safari, 10 minutes on Gmail — I see that something does not add up … literally.