Waiting in line: An economic perspective

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#1Oct 13, 2023, 09:45 PM
When we go about our daily economic tasks, we often find ourselves stuck waiting in line. Whether it’s at banks, malls, gas stations, or even for healthcare, this is a common experience. Just think about what we lose during that time; in economic terms, it’s all about lost opportunities. We could be using that time for something more productive. Thanks to technology and digital advancements, many of these waiting scenarios have improved. With options like online banking, Bitcoin, and service payments using barcodes, things are getting easier. But here’s a thought: could we eventually see congestion in the digital world too? Maybe we’ll find ourselves waiting because of network problems or similar issues. That's definitely something to keep in mind when considering what might be the next big thing in the economy!
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just_forkNewbie
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#2Oct 14, 2023, 12:04 AM
The advantage on digital space is its easy to boost the scalability issue in case there’s crowding problem already arise. We can use Bitcoin and Ethereum ecosystem for example, In the past there overcrowded on the user but right now it improves dramatically and there’s already a lot of blockchain available to cover the overcrowded issue. This is same on other aspects of digital space. It’s easy to improve digitally compared to physical space.
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bullz25Newbie
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#3Oct 14, 2023, 03:47 AM
At banks it is hard to grasp, do those banks don't own a digital infrastructure? Malls are in many cases due to having a home where the owner/renter does not feel at home.
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mr_coinNewbie
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#4Oct 14, 2023, 04:58 AM
The physical waiting lines have slowly been replaced by the digital queue and it is true that tech solves a lot but it is also known to create its own bottlenecks. This has already happened with blockchain networks: at times of high demand, transactions may require hours and transaction costs may skyrocket. This would occur in traditional systems as servers would crash with the traffic or payment gateways limiting the activity. The most critical one is scalability. To prevent such a phenomenon as digital overcrowding there are also innovations such as layer-2 solutions, improved consensus mechanisms and distributed computing. On which yes, there can still be lines, but breakthroughs worth following are those that eliminate these chokepoints, and not merely take them to the web.
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vectorlab867Full Member
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#5Oct 14, 2023, 07:22 AM
The contemporary financial world is currently facing serious challenges. People still frequent banks, and reducing queue times will be a significant obstacle in the future. The advent of digital banking and cryptocurrency should alleviate this inconvenience. However, as time goes by, banking systems must adopt cryptocurrency-based systems that eliminate the need to queue for services. Similarly, when shopping without carrying cash, every transaction is recorded on the blockchain. People no longer need to carry cash, they can simply carry a card loaded with Bitcoin or altcoins while traveling, avoiding the crime associated with carrying cash. In my opinion, the banking system must be completely reformed in the future, taking into account the convenience factor of public transactions.
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#6Oct 16, 2023, 04:16 PM
Having to wait for a cue in the traditional word is annoying and a complete waste of time in the banks. However in the cryptospace, we can still have this cue when bitcoin blockchain is congested with garbages like Rune od BRC20 tokens which we have experienced in the past. But the cryptospace is far better when waiting because you are free to make your transaction and without hindering you from carrying out your daily activities. Only if you need the funds urgently. Stablecoins have made transactions easy and faster when using them.
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foxpro620Newbie
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#7Oct 16, 2023, 05:40 PM
Digitalization has actually helped a lot, with online payment mobile banking, online shopping like ordering thing's we need and the rest, has actually helped alot in savings transport for these movement, time and strength. This development has actually helped so many citizens, most especially those in the rural area that may no have things like Banks and other's close to them to access. But your concern is actually very vital and it's happening today, we are having network issues, some kind of app crashes, and many more that's why as digital innovation is the future it must have a reliable network and cybersecurity and only then can we enjoy the benefit without facing any problem
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dr_forkNewbie
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#8Oct 16, 2023, 11:57 PM
We call this transactions per second. If there are more transactions made than what the payment processor can process in a second, this will cause bottleneck, which make the other transactions need to wait in line. For sure digital technology make people able to process a lot transactions just in a second instead of in real life people have to wait one by one which will take much time.
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fork_keyNewbie
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#9Oct 17, 2023, 03:14 AM
Many transactions can't be processed simultaneously, so waiting times also occur in blockchains. At least this waiting isn't a physical one your transaction is processed when it's due. The digital world has many advantages, and these advantages truly make life easier. It saves us time, freeing it up for us to focus on research and other tasks.
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wolfoneNewbie
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#10Oct 17, 2023, 09:33 AM
Cryptocurrency and other digital payment services still operate in waiting in line for payment confirmation, yes, miners still acts on this too but the case is automatic, the time it would take for physical customers attendance to digital fast payment processor is quite different, but there is still an issue of in line waiting. Afterall, that's the purpose of creating anything digital solutions to a particular problems, faster responses, speedy solutions, speedy delivery and so many faster......, these are the bedrock of many digital apps today to solve slow process problems.
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#11Oct 17, 2023, 10:31 AM
Yeah, that's so true. Opportunity, money, time, and so on are wasted in traffic, may it be on the roads, banks, malls, airports, and so on. Yeah, the solution is to be able to make transactions without physically appearing. You don't have to fall in line because you can pay your bills, for example, or request something online or from a phone, from wherever you are. The problem, I agree, is that traffic is now experienced online as well. As a matter of fact, there are situations where it's better for you to appear physically than keep on waiting online or on the phone. How many times have we been frustrated because a site has crashed? How many times have wasted so much time refreshing a page because it can't handle the traffic anymore? How many times have we made transactions over the phone and asked to wait because everybody's busy in the office. There are moments when the solution becomes more problematic than the problem.
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degenlabNewbie
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#12Oct 18, 2023, 07:10 AM
As long as you don't live in a communist country, you can rest assured that queues won't affect essential aspects of your life, such as having to spend half a day in line to buy half a dozen eggs or a loaf of bread, which is all that's available at the supermarket. In developed countries, there are queues, but for non-essential items, such as when the new iPhone goes on sale and things like that. This is just nonsense.
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hash68Newbie
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#13Oct 20, 2023, 04:04 AM
A new era begins from the ruins of physical infrastructure. New technologies are being added to make your life easier. The number of banks is increasing to simplify the financial sector, but as the number of citizens increases, financial security and services are being hampered and they are feeling annoyed with the centralized financial system. That is why the inclination of citizens towards decentralized financial systems is constantly increasing and they are bypassing the physical banking system and building their own systems. Paying bills and conducting business through digital systems through fund transfer plays an effective role in the country's economy with its own financial development. Like physical infrastructure there may be congestion in the digital space but it is a very temporary obstacle. As a result of the application of most efficient management to solve technical problems, the benefits of these platforms far outweigh the inconveniences.
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#14Oct 20, 2023, 05:40 AM
We have nowhere to go but to move forward with the kind of living we have right now. While not everyone could go along with the innovation that we're having. It only tells us one thing that all of these changes are affecting ourselves and as well as the economy of our countries. And soon more digitalization and other programs will be adopted by most of us. And that is the reason why many businesses are also adopting this phase because if they don't do it, they're going to be out of business in no time.
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bullhqMember
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#15Oct 20, 2023, 08:33 AM
Everything that has an advantage also has its disadvantages. You would have been expected to drive to the bank if you wanted to make some transactions but online banking has helped to alleviate that burden. It has saved us time and the resources that are needed to appear physically in banks.  Online activities have also given rise to scams and hacks. You wouldn't worry much about losing your money to scammers if you have to appear in banks for transactions. The worst part about these network issues caused by overcrowding is that it halts the entire operations of the bank. I also remember how transaction fees skyrocketed during the attack on the mempool by Ordinals because of network congestion.
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orbithqMember
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#16Oct 20, 2023, 09:30 AM
It's a simple case of supply and demand, if you have lots of money you can bypass queues. The rest of us are at the mercy of the supply side - your favorite band puts 100k tickets on sale for a new tour, but the ticket selling site can only handle 10k concurrent transactions taking place, will force them to create a system that puts people in a certain order based on arrival time. The problem that you claim has already been solved a dozen times over, however as technology progresses - hardware for example, then the ability to better handle higher rates of concurrent connections might be solved. If we ever reached the state of quantum computing then there may never be queues again.
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mr_deltaMember
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#17Oct 20, 2023, 12:14 PM
Yes ... Overcrowding in digital space and waiting in line already exist. And just like you said due to network issues, high traffic, busy customer service lines, and so. But it can be helped though. Now and later, physical and digital. You can book a time slot, so you don't have to wait in line. You can set estimated time on delivery apps, so you won't have to wait , and some other solutions. Although, I don't think having to wait can be completely eliminated, even on digital space. Say, the best way is to make the waiting less painful or a little more enjoyable. The line shouldn't always be way too long, and customers can do something else while they wait.
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#18Oct 20, 2023, 01:16 PM
Waiting in line is bad but consider also the jobs loss from banks wanting to shut down branches. And also consider the cash economy impact if banks close down branches and also remove ATM service along with it. Everything is two sided and also politial. Why can't banks hire more people to cut the lines by providing services faster? It would be simpler than trying to force digital solutions on older people. At the end of the day, this digitization also outsources part of banking because older folk still want help paying their bill. Now the neighborhood grocery store takes care of it for a small fee instead of a cashier.
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#19Oct 20, 2023, 05:04 PM
I was going to bring up traffic as well before I read this reply. It's the form of waiting in line that I hate the most. The thing is, there will always be some sort of downtime in whatever solution we come up with. Just like how accidents can occur anytime in physical traffic, there can also be unexpected jams in digital traffic.​ Technology is getting more and more advanced everyday. Could AI potentially help in the next big breakthrough? Or will it only make it worse?
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hashio234Newbie
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#20Oct 20, 2023, 05:44 PM
Unlike the physical space where people have to wait for ther turn because of limited number of staffs and resources to attend to a crowd, in the digital space the larger the bandwidth the more people the server can attend to at a time so therefore if a cyber service provider fails to expand their bandwidth they might lose value and loss clients due to unsatisfied users and time wastage
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