We live in a time when you can get anything delivered to you at any time. It’s an amazing feat of engineering. But, crucially, we don’t often ask how that stuff gets to us. We don’t tend to question the behind-the-scenes labor it takes to provide the level of convenience we’re so used to. Sure, technology has made life easier for some workers, but there is still a lot of manpower required to make things fast and easy. Instacart is a great example of this. 

It seems like a great idea, and in many ways it is, to be able to hire someone to deliver your groceries. If you’re feeling under the weather and live alone, it can be a lifesaver. But we have to be careful about what we’re asking these gig workers to do for us, especially considering how much money they make (not nearly enough).