Throwaway Generation

Now I'm not sure if I am alone here, but it's starting to become a scary thought how possessions have become of so little value these days.

What really sparked this post was an advert I saw today, namely the Carphone Warehouse. Turns out they're giving away a free laptop when you sign up to AOL broadband! (you can check it out here). In fact, last time I heard they were giving away PS3's with mobile phone contracts!

Okay, so it's not like they're making huge losses on these deals. In fact, with a 24 month contract, the full price is always more than it feels you are paying (£29.99 a month is a lot less of a sting that a one-off payment of £700+). It's this whole 'free' ideal that seems to devalue all these items.

And aside the freebies, the general cost of any kind of technology today is bewilderingly cheap, compared to last year alone. Laptops, LCD TV's, Computers, Mobile Phones, consumables, they're all falling in price.

And the fact that they are so cheap makes you think how good they really are they? Laptops for example. Yes, that bloke from PC World is jabbering on about your Core Duo's and ten gigabit megabit superbit quadbit big-number-bit wow-bit! But are they built to last?

It seems such a crazy economy. The cheaper they make it, the cheaper they can sell it, and so the more they tend to sell. But if it breaks after a year or so, who really cares?

These days, it is usually cheaper and easier to throw your old one out than tinker with and upgrade your current one. And it is what most people seem to do (judging by my local skip).

Now I'm not complaining about cheap (and free) technology as such. But it does make me think how it affects my attitude towards such things.