Do you need the latest, greatest whatever?
By dartman2
@dartman2 (124)
Canada
April 30, 2008 10:24pm CST
Are you the type of person that needs to follow trends? Do you need the latest gadget? Have you fully exploited the capabilities of the "stuff" that you already own? These are questions we could ask ourselves almost daily to prevent massive consumerism. I believe that society in general is so directed by advertising and one-upsmanship that we almost never fully exploit the usefulness of our possessions. There are fewer and fewer people, it seems, that wear their "stuff" out before replacing it. Frivolous spending is rampant.
When an article we own still serves us well, we should not be coerced into believing that it is not "good enough" anymore but should continue to use it until it no longer functions or until we no longer need it. At this point, we can pass it along to someone who can benefit from it's use. This is a very "green" approach, and more of us should practice this in our daily lives. This is my opinion and my contribution to reducing waste in a society that is having great difficulty in finding places to put our unused stuff (read garbage or waste) that is still useful. I carefully consider these points each time I must find a place for items I don't need anymore. Inevitably, I visit the recycle/reuse section of our landfill site and make it available to others.
http://www.quazen.com/Science/Environment/Global-Warming-and-the-Consumer.116900
1 person likes this
3 responses
@ruby222 (4847)
•
1 May 08
Like many I have gone through the phase of buying gadgets,but as the years ahve gone by i have found that all in all im just glad to see the back of them half the time!!For a start they take up so much space,they need work surfaces to stand on,space that i just havent got now.Who really needs a blender and a mixer and a bread maker.etc.etc,the answer is that we dont.But the `gadget makers` will kid us into thinking that we cant live withiut them.A typical one is the sandwich maker,well lol,I have one and admittedly i love the sandwiches that come out of it,but cleaning it afterwards well ..what a nightmare,if you use cheese well it goes all gooey and no matter how you try the goo jusy doesnt seem to clean off properly ,whicjh is a bit offputting.Ive got rid of most of my gadgets now,just really because i havent the room,and as you say the pile of unwanted gadgets grows higher and higher
@dartman2 (124)
• Canada
7 May 08
We have a lot of the same feelings and are trying our best to make the most of what we have. Our purchases are usually well thought out before "taking the plunge" and buying something else. Sometimes, as you say Ruby, new gadgets are more work than they are worth.
1 person likes this
@qdietz (244)
• United States
1 May 08
I do like having new gadgets but I don't absolutely need the new things. On the other hand I love exploiting a gadget to its fullest, through open source and such. The thing is your approach can hurt the economy. The US has an economy were all this "frivolous spending" brings in big dollars to companies and reinforces them along with the US dollar and such.
It is true that people do not wear out their stuff but it is because stuff lasts really long nowadays and there are many great deals on new gadgets.
2 people like this
@dartman2 (124)
• Canada
1 May 08
I, also, like my gadgets, being a techie type for many years. I understand the difficulties in reducing consumption of the never-ending flow of products that we didn't need, or even know about last year, and how that would hurt the capitalism that makes the rich richer while food supplies dwindle and people suffer. I am sure that if I could start a company making a product that I believed in, I would want to be successful too. I believe though that if we, as consumers, are to direct the world (and only we can do it), we must change our thinking, if only a little, to support more of what is going to be needed in the world of our future. Many thanks for your response, qdietz. This is always going to be difficult to figure out - how to support our economies in a sensible way.
1 person likes this
@Foxfire1875 (2010)
•
6 May 08
I do like gadgets but never buy for the sake of it, for example I have only owned 2 mobile phones and I only got the second one because the sim card stopped working in the first one.
I just don't see the need in replacing something unless it has broken down. I have family and friends who rush out to buy the latest thing but I'm quite happy to wait until the day comes that a gadget has to be replaced.
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