Holiday shopping has been replaced by holiday clicking. We no longer buy from the store down the block, we buy from the block chain in the cloud.

We Islanders do a lot of clicking — weary UPS workers on last boat to America every night can attest to that. We know many local businesses are on slim margins, especially in the off-season, but hey, we’re busy, and cybershopping saves us time and money, especially when we get free shipping.

But the convenience of the click comes with hidden costs, to our privacy and our community.

When we shop at a local business, our purchase and tidings of joy are the end of the transaction. When we click, it’s only the beginning.

Every time we click, we give our personal information to increasing armada of data collection companies. (To get an idea of just how many eyes are following you, go to simpleoptout.com or sift.com.)

So much cyber-data has been collected on each of us, that we all now have a secret consumer score. These scores determine what type of service we receive — even how long each of us is kept on hold.

Orwell would be gobsmacked.

When we shop on Amazon, our order ends up in a leviathan warehouse where the people doing the heavy lifting for the world’s richest man earn an average of $31,000 a year.

Imagine Bob Cratchit, gutting out 12-hour days, trying to keep up with robotically controlled boxes which he must fill every 11 seconds or risk getting an automated termination letter.

Dickens would be gobsmacked.

Clicking does not always save money. My research has shown that there is an inverse relationship between fiscal restraint and the amount of holiday cheer one imbibes while cybershopping. It can also lead to questionable gift choices, like that electric spatula I knew mom would love.

Meanwhile, the holidays showcase the Vineyard at its finest.

We’re graced with three walkable, historic, downtown districts, decked out for the holidays, evoking the spirit of George Bailey’s Bedford Falls. When we shop in our towns, we get fresh air and burn some of those extra holiday calories; we get to see friends and interact with real people and to personally wish them Merry Christmas, happy Hanukkah or if they’re Druids, happy winter solstice.

You can bring the kids, see what gifts they’d like and even let them see what you’d like, so you don’t end up with an electric spatula.

If you can’t find a special gift on the Island, you’re not looking.

The Vineyard is home to an extraordinary number of skilled artisans and artists who display their wares in local shops and galleries.

There are locally owned tackle shops, toy stores, gift shops, book stores, and sporting goods stores. There are antique shops and vintage stores with troves of high-end recyclables.

In America, shopping for housewares and hardware requires going to cavernous warehouses where we’re more likely to see a yeti than a helpful salesperson. On the Vineyard there are four locally owned, well-stocked and well-staffed hardware stores with thousands of functional gifts.

We have fishmongers who will send fresh, local seafood anywhere in the country — always a home run. Local farms churn out artisan cheeses that will wow the family Francophile. When I visit my mother in Delaware, I am not given entry until I produce the By the Sea Salt.

So give digital dystopia a pass this holiday season. Put down the mouse and tell Alexa to mind her own damn business.

It’s the experience of holiday shopping, not the efficiency, that instills the spirit of the season. And when we shop local, we take care of our friends and neighbors.

Just like they did in Bedford Falls.

Barry Stringfellow lives in Edgartown.