I've always found it a bit odd when people are singing elegies to the joys of human contact in... a supermarket checkout line. There's no point in my life in which that was a serious source of "human contact" and I think anyone who can't say that has a problem that needs immediate addressing. One that can't be fixed by complaining about how impersonal shopping is now.
I do see human contact in the grocery store... it's between the employees of the store, who know each other, and actually have some sort of relationship, not with the faceless masses that transiently stream through. Of course they don't get to just chat the whole time, but humans being humans, they manage to find some time.
I don't find joy in a supermarket checkout line, but I have witnessed joy in some people (customers, mostly older, who found a way to stand out from the masses and have a face). Perhaps those who take the time to sing elegies actually do find personal joy and fulfillment even a checkout line even if you and I do not.
I do see human contact in the grocery store... it's between the employees of the store, who know each other, and actually have some sort of relationship, not with the faceless masses that transiently stream through. Of course they don't get to just chat the whole time, but humans being humans, they manage to find some time.