No, I don't like gadgets, especially if it is mostly "community driven" and more for the "social status" than the functionality.
People, we don't need an iPhone. I can understand that you are interested in the technology and want to buy a smart phone, but please: don't ever tell me that you need the new iPhone (unless if you are a device-specific programmer or product designer, but those are really the only two professions I can imagine). It is ridiculous to follow the trend and buy a new generation every time it comes out. Generation 6 will come, so stop being sheepish zombie-consumers and just skip that line. Skip a generation of those iPhones and the world won't stop spinning. What is so important about it?
All this mass consumption of electronics is a terrible stress on the environment, the political stability of the areas that are able to mine for the rare minerals needed to build your gadgets and the human rights of the people working at the assembly lines.
I am not a moralist, but just skip a generation and don't stress it. Generation 6 will come and then you can stand in line again.
More:
- Will Apple's iPhone 5 launch a new era for e-waste recycling? (Bruce Kennedy, GreenBiz.com)
- iPhone 5 adds waste to the e-waste problem (Mary Catherine O'Connor, SmartPlanet.com)
- The True Cost of an iPhone (MBAonline.com)
- How Green is Your iPhone? (article and infographic)
- How Green is Your iPad? (infographic)
- Is your mobile phone helping fund war in Congo? (Gordon Rayner, The Telegraph)
- What would Jesus Buy? (documentary by Reverend Bill and the Church of Stop Shopping)
- The Story of Stuff (The Story of Stuff Project)
Recent news on Foxconn strike, October 6 2012:
- Fears of iPhone 5 shortage as Chinese factory workers go on strike after being ordered to work on national holiday (Daily Mail)
- Foxconn Workers Strike Over iPhone 5 Quality Demands (PCMag)
- iPhoneproductie in het gedrang door staking? (VRT)
- Foxconn denies strike at iPhone 5 manufacturing plant (TechRadar)
People are different. Some are practical and get what they need and don't care about iterations as long as they don't really feel the need to get it. Others are enthusiasts who need to have every new gadget out there. It depends on a lot of things - wealth, lifestyle, critical thinking...
ReplyDeleteAs for the iPhone it has become more than just a phone or an "internet communications device". Many feel better just having it. It's part of their lives. And knowing that a better version exists can be uncomfortable to many who don't have it yet.
It think that triggers the same areas in the brain in women, for example, when they are shopping for shoes. You know they have enough shoes for the rest of their lives, yet they still are purchasing new ones. Why? They can't give you an adequate answer.
And there's a reason why this behavior is most prominent in Apple consumers - Apple's products are the best out there. For example I've never been an Apple consumer until I needed to upgrade my phone. I had a good phone. I've been with it before all of this iPhone and touchscreen smartphones craze (although mine was still a smartphone). Sure I liked the ads of these new smartphones but I never felt the need to get one. Until it broke. So I went to the store and started trying all these new phones until I made my decision on which one to purchase. All of them sucked donkey balls. Even the Galaxy S3. Then I decided to try the iPhone. And after 5 minutes I walked out of the store with it. I'll probably upgrade it when it breaks completely.
That are my thoughts on the subject. Hope it helps.
Thank you, that is a very interesting thought indeed. I do advocate for a more "practical" approach, but there is indeed a big "enthusiast" part in this story.
ReplyDeleteThat aside, as I also heard of people: "it is not a problem, I give my old phone away or I sell it at eBay", I want to add that I see it on a broader scale. The increase of consumption or consumer demand will increase production and that will in the end create extra trash. We are not only talking about the end product here, but the whole production line, going from mining of the minerals, extortion of factory workers, plastic in package material, transportation costs, ...
At the other end, we can of course not go back to the stone age, and I am not advocating that, I simply find it very interesting to have the debate going.