I was reading the other day about the amount of food that is thrown away and wasted, when so many in the world are starving. This started me thinking about technology and I wondered if that same thing applies.
So many of today’s gadgets are made in such a way that it’s very difficult to repair them. I have a Samsung television that apparently has no screws holding it together. I would point out that I have not tried to take it to bits to test this theory! If something goes wrong with the set I wonder if it will be cost effective to have it repaired?
A friend of mine discovered a problem with her mother’s washing machine. She made some enquiries about repairs and most people she called stated a price of £120 just for the initial call out. So any repairs would be an additional cost. In the end she realised it would be cheaper to buy a new machine.
Tablet computers such as the Nexus or KindleFire are sold at such low prices that if something happens you feel almost obliged to buy a new one. After all, it doesn’t cost that much. Drop your mobile phone? Just buy a new one!
There has been much talk about people wanting things now – as quickly as possible. I know some people who will become upset if they do not receive an immediate reply to a text they have sent. Is this what we have become? A society that demands instant gratification? A society that will simply throw away a broken gadget and buy a new one, rather than have the original repaired? Would we really throw away one half of the world’s food production?
Perhaps we all need to take a step back and look at where we, as a world, are heading.
Filed under GeneralTagged blog.