- Consumerism: as a social and economic order and ideology encourages the acquisition of goods and services in ever-greater amounts.
This week saw the launch of Apple’s latest innovative piece of technology, in the form of a wrist watch which you can talk to! I’m not one to preach, especially as i proudly sit and write this on my shiny MacBook, however this new release does strike me as a slightly baffling addition to the general public’s little Apple families. The iPod was brilliant, and then the iPhone i understood as it combined the music and the phone, whilst throwing in a few app’s along the way. The i-Pad, hmm, okay, i guess it kind of makes sense to have a big-ish screen, without the lumpy keyboard in front, okay i’ll have one of those too. This week we are being told that the ‘must have’ piece of technology, some even go as far as saying ‘life changing’, is a watch, which basically does everything that your phone does which is all of the thickness of a cotton pocket away when your hands are by your side, but not quite as well. Fair play to the Apple marketing team, they had their work cut out trying to persuade you with this one, especially as it’s partly their fault that watches in general have become less popular, seen as you can find out the time in every time zone with one swipe of a screen.
The iWatch epitomises what consumerism is. What the corporations suggest is a high level of spending and consumption leading to a sound economy for everyone to live within, which would be slightly more justified if said companies were paying their taxes, but that’s another topic all together.
Spending money is important for the economy, but no one really needs this watch. If everyone who was considering purchasing one kept in mind the fact that you already have a much better version of the watch in your pocket, you could spend the money on something a little more worthwhile. Go to seaside with a friend, book onto a course to learn something new, take your loved one away for a weekend instead of spending the next month staring at your wrist. After all, the fad of the watch will wear off and no doubt ‘talk’ of the latest iPhone will begin in the next few weeks or so. The iWatch retails from £299 – You could give £20 to a worthwhile charity and still have plenty left to spend on something that will last long in the memory, long after the iWatch has departed and joined the likes of the Minidisc and the Pager in tech-heaven.
(this post was written and sponsored by Adams Cakes, which incidentally it is fine to purchase.)
