Technology consumerism needs to be confronted – El Estoque

Source Domain: elestoque.org

Each fall, our lives are bombarded with the newest tech releases. The same old devices return with “innovative changes,” 64GB more storage and a $200 markup. With each software update slowly taking up storage, suddenly, the trusty phone that’s stayed faithfully by your side for as long as you can remember doesn’t feel so great anymore.

Technology promises a future of progress, efficiency and sustainability, yet it leaves behind a trail of frustration and waste. Despite portraying itself as benevolent, the tech industry ultimately seeks customer loyalty and money, manipulating and exploiting consumerism for profit and betraying the customers that sustain it in the process.

Consider Apple, headquartered 15 minutes away from MVHS and central to most of our lives. Known for its high brand loyalty and dominance of the U.S. smartphone market, the company built up its customer base through years of ecosystem integration. However, despite offering features such as data transfer and the ability to trade in older phones, it is unclear how the consumer concretely benefits from purchasing new devices often. Such rapid product cycles sacrifice innovation for novelty.

As technological innovation slows, new releases are becoming increasingly similar. A survey from Compare-and-Recycle shows that 66% of people couldn’t correctly identify their iPhone model. Although companies have painted an illusion of progress, they’ve made little to no changes in terms of functionality, only tweaking features such as phone screen size, storage capacity, and camera quality. Tech companies’ messaging can give consumers the impression that they’re making a tangible improvement in their lives, when the main impact they’re making is lining tech billionaires’ pockets.

Apple is only one of many companies that utilize marketing campaigns, generating demand for new releases to increase profit, but warping consumer perception. These advertisements promote the…

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