Gadget Lust
I was a teenager in the 1990's. An unhappy one at that.
It is odd looking back now, in my 30's. Those are the years you are strongest. I can now trace back how the cultural narratives and the conceptual frameworks of that time set me up for disappointment. I hope that if I ever have children, I can do them better on this front.
But of course, a moment in time is always something that is fragile and momentary. Times do change. With my luck, my kid will be a rap music listening transsexual opioid addict, as these pitfalls have emerged prominently in recent years.
When my father was my age, I was six years old.
Gadget lust occurs often with me. It is worse with other people I know. Other people I know who are average people earning very average livings will talk about how they want to buy the $1000 iPhone X, which objectively is a complete waste of money.
But why does it occur? There is this feeling of progress that you get with these things. Every next gadget is a step closer to perfection.
Moore's law is amazing. Double in speed every 18 months. Reduction in energy consumption. It is steady progress and growth.
And of course nowadays cell phones have higher resolutions than televisions.
Perfection is always frustrated. Frustration is what we are trying to solve when we buy $1000 iPhones.
The solution is not buying the $1000 iPhone. It is in solving your own frustration.
At the end of my 20's, my life was in shambles. I was back home with my mother and father, the people who despite their best efforts had not been astute enough to avoid several pitfalls. My professional and creative ambitions were frustrated. I actually bought my first smartphone in that time. It was a Windows Phone from Nokia. My very first one. It was about $150 used. I couldn't justify to myself buying the iPhone 4s for like $400 at the time. And the android phones didn't impress me. The Windows Phone was very impressive to me. It was fluid, stylish, and efficient.
I also was working at a garden center in that time. I had never grown anything in my life up till that point, though one line always stuck with me, when the owners of Steve and Barry's clothing said that a cotton seed planted...the quote eludes me, but it made an impression.
I watered plants. I turned 30.
It was fun at the time watching the new varieties of plants roll in. I kept them alive. They blossomed. They died, and went on sale. They changed with the seasons and the holidays. It was back in to the rhythms of life.
But of course, a moment in time is always something that is fragile and momentary. Times do change. With my luck, my kid will be a rap music listening transsexual opioid addict, as these pitfalls have emerged prominently in recent years.
When my father was my age, I was six years old.
Gadget lust occurs often with me. It is worse with other people I know. Other people I know who are average people earning very average livings will talk about how they want to buy the $1000 iPhone X, which objectively is a complete waste of money.
But why does it occur? There is this feeling of progress that you get with these things. Every next gadget is a step closer to perfection.
Moore's law is amazing. Double in speed every 18 months. Reduction in energy consumption. It is steady progress and growth.
And of course nowadays cell phones have higher resolutions than televisions.
Perfection is always frustrated. Frustration is what we are trying to solve when we buy $1000 iPhones.
The solution is not buying the $1000 iPhone. It is in solving your own frustration.
At the end of my 20's, my life was in shambles. I was back home with my mother and father, the people who despite their best efforts had not been astute enough to avoid several pitfalls. My professional and creative ambitions were frustrated. I actually bought my first smartphone in that time. It was a Windows Phone from Nokia. My very first one. It was about $150 used. I couldn't justify to myself buying the iPhone 4s for like $400 at the time. And the android phones didn't impress me. The Windows Phone was very impressive to me. It was fluid, stylish, and efficient.
I also was working at a garden center in that time. I had never grown anything in my life up till that point, though one line always stuck with me, when the owners of Steve and Barry's clothing said that a cotton seed planted...the quote eludes me, but it made an impression.
I watered plants. I turned 30.
It was fun at the time watching the new varieties of plants roll in. I kept them alive. They blossomed. They died, and went on sale. They changed with the seasons and the holidays. It was back in to the rhythms of life.
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