Farmers markets in the US

Humanity tweeted more and attended more farmers markets simultaneously, which is the kind of thing one wants to believe means something important about reconnecting with the earth through social media. It does not. But it is nice to think so, briefly.

Both lines moved sharply in 2020. Twitter traffic exploded as the platform became the go-to newsroom for a confusing pandemic, while farmers markets boomed as an outdoor, supply-chain-proof, socially-distanced way to shop for groceries. One line is the sound of panic scrolling; the other is the sound of careful bagging outdoors. Same spring, different ways of coping.

So the correlation is the accidental overlap of two very different reactions to the same fear: say everything online, buy nothing indoors. Each served a purpose. Only one of them fed anybody.