The Patriot In-Depth: students spend free time online shopping

Senior Eleanor Cohen sits in her bed, illuminated by the glow of her computer screen. Her fingers fly across the keyboard, entering email after email into a database.

She chuckles to herself, admiring her work at winning the game, at cheating the system. For every email account she refers to the site, she earns an additional 15 percent off her online shopping cart. Cohen creates fake email after fake email, only to refer each one and earn a greater discount.

When she is satisfied with her discounts, Cohen finalizes her purchase.

“I was kind of obnoxious. I think I reported like nine people,” Cohen said.

“[Online shopping] is easy because it’s just clicking buttons, and I have my credit card number memorized,” Cohen said. “You can track your packages, so you know exactly when it’ll get there. It can be very time effective.”

Angela DeCarlo is the Stories Chief for The Patriot and jcpatriot.com.