Consumerism and Planned Obsolescence

Please. Please. Please. Do not think I wholeheartedly agree with this idea. But for our benefit let me present it: Planned Obsolescence. This concept or idea is that companies plan for their products to fail eventually, so that the consumer will buy *new upgraded* version of the product days, months, or years later.

This concept can be applied to television sets, cars, fashion, light bulbs, and many other products. Planned obsolescence argues that companies purposefully limit the lifespan of their products so consumers will buy more later.

Do you think this is true? Well then think about this. For a company that wants to make money, what about this idea makes it seem unattractive. Sure you don't want to have a consumer revolt against a lemon... BUT what if you found a way to cleverly make this idea work. It is genius! Keep us the consumer coming back for more!

I know. I know. It is a a little conspiracy theory. But let's face it... we buy too much. Don't you ever just get frustrated with yourself and think "Am I just going to work, buy, work, buy, work, and buy for the rest of my life".

Surely money and stuff does mean happiness.Now here's my opinion in this concept. I think there are several elements that drive planned obsolescence and it puts all of us on the hook.

First! Media. Newspapers, radio, TV, magazines, internet, and so on... all of them advertise. And they have gotten not just good, they are FANTASTIC at convincing us that what we have and who we are is obsolete, uncool, or unsafe. Thus, we are all suckered into buying and upgrading. We get rid of stuff that does not need to be upgraded.

Second! We are suckers. First we support products that we don't actually need. Nay, we demand these products. In fact even if we don't have the money we demand them. Thus, we have created the incentive for inferior products. From inferior toolboxes to McMansions we want big, cool, shiny as cheap as you can give it to me... RIGHT NOW. We don't want to save and invest, we want it now.

Third! Now blame manufacturers. They sell us stuff, they advertise, and they are always looking for ways to skim cream off the top. Not because they are evil, it is because companies are designed to make money. There is nothing wrong with that. However, can money making get out of control? Absolutely, no incredulously, yes! Just look at what happened to our economy. Greed. Greed. Greed.

So, join with me. Escape consumerism! I'll leave you with this awesome excerpt from a talk given by Joseph B. Wirthlin. It is about debt, but even if we're not in debt the message rings true, don't let consumerism control you:

"In spite of the teachings of the Church from its earliest days until today, members sometimes fall victim to many unwise and foolish financial practices. Some continue to spend, thinking that somehow the money will become available. Somehow they will survive. Far too often, the money hoped for does not appear. Remember this: debt is a form of bondage. It is a financial termite. When we make purchases on credit, they give us only an illusion of prosperity. We think we own things, but the reality is, our things own us."