E-waste can’t keep up with consumerism trends
:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/21956540/image__5_.png)
Every 2020 iPhone released by Apple (Gartenberg, 2020).
Though it might be a hard pill to swallow, consumers like you and I are equally guilty in contributing to the global e-waste problem.
As Aaron Blum, co-founder and chief operating officer of ERI, stated,
“In our society, we always have to have the new, best product.”
This is a clear trend observed in society today, where middle-class consumers constantly purchase new tech devices even if they are not absolutely essential. One recent viral video by TikTok user @itskeyonn prompted a wave of people using his sound to show off their unboxing of their newly purchased iPads, with the belief that buying an iPad would help organise and improve their lives in some way. Over 3300 people have since hopped on the bandwagon, posting their videos as part of this trend. Did all these people really need that new iPad? It remains to be seen.
In this day and age, many of us consumers treat our expensive personal electronic devices as though they are disposable commodities. We discard old devices in favour of purchasing the newest models—even if those new models might not differ that much in specifications or features from our current devices. This psychological craving for novelty drives consumers in the 21st century, highlighting this innate impulse to “buy how things make us feel”. Things like social influence, brand loyalty and sometimes just sheer habit all contribute to such consumer behaviour (Lee, 2020).
The next time you place an order for the newest iPhone model, think twice before you act. Consider: do you really need a new phone? Or is it just a “fear of missing out” and peer pressure that’s enticing you to cart out your purchase?
References
Gartenberg, C. (2020). How to choose between all the new iPhone 12 models. The Verge. Retrieved 6 February 2022, from https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/21508433/apple-iphone-12-models-differences-comparisons-how-to-choose.
Lee, H. J. (2020). A study of consumer repurchase behaviors of smartphones using artificial neural network. Information (Basel), 11(9), 400. https://doi.org/10.3390/INFO11090400.