The Created Need for Gadgets

You may have noticed that a number of manufacturers are endlessly launching and releasing various gizmos and gadgets, every month it seems. There are mobile phone manufacturers who make it a point to release at least two new cellphone models a month; some release new software that can be added as upgrades to their products; and then there are companies which launch an entire line of, say, digital cameras but only make available one camera per month. It’s crazy, really.

Consider this: most of these “new” gadgets aren’t really new though; they’re just rehashes of the ones manufacturers have already released. Companies say these modified or upgraded gadgets are launched specifically to better serve the users, but such moves actually make consumers wonder if the products these companies provide are inadequate so they still have to provide upgrades for them. Makes you think twice about buying these things, right?

Sometimes people stop and think about whether these over-priced, attractive, huge/tiny things they buy “to make their lives better” are really of any help in improving their lives. What are the (perceived) uses of different gadgets in people’s lives, anyway?

Mobile phones, laptops or notebooks, and PDAs are all marketed as essential in being able to manage data and effectively communicate with and in staying connected to other people. Manufacturers of such devices have always regarded data management and communication as their most reliable selling point for these gadgets. Everyone from children to professionals needs a mobile phone to be able to keep in touch with their parents or business partners and clients. Laptops, notebooks, PDAs and certain mobile phone units allow people to keep in touch with others through web browsing and email sending.

Portable gaming devices like the popular PlayStation Portable (PSP) and the Nintendo DS, and mp3 players, among others, are marketed as devices that entertain people. Gaming and listening music are habits or pasttimes (professions, even) that could make use of such gadgets.

Other devices also address the needs (required for work or for hobbies) of some people like the digital camera/SLR or digital camcorders. Such gadgets are considered useful by those who need them. Devices like PDAs and laptops that professionals consider important also sell well with people who require them in their work.

But are these gadgets REALLY a necessity?

Yes. And no.

You may have noticed that a number of manufacturers are endlessly launching and releasing various gizmos and gadgets, every month it seems. There are mobile phone manufacturers who make it a point to release at least two new cellphone models a month; some release new software that can be added as upgrades to their products; and then there are companies which launch an entire line of, say, digital cameras but only make available one camera per month. It’s crazy, really.

Consider this: most of these “new” gadgets aren’t really new though; they’re just rehashes of the ones manufacturers have already released. Companies say these modified or upgraded gadgets are launched specifically to better serve the users, but such moves actually make consumers wonder if the products these companies provide are inadequate so they still have to provide upgrades for them. Makes you think twice about buying these things, right?

Sometimes people stop and think about whether these over-priced, attractive, huge/tiny things they buy “to make their lives better” are really of any help in improving their lives. What are the (perceived) uses of different gadgets in people’s lives, anyway?

Mobile phones, laptops or notebooks, and PDAs are all marketed as essential in being able to manage data and effectively communicate with and in staying connected to other people. Manufacturers of such devices have always regarded data management and communication as their most reliable selling point for these gadgets. Everyone from children to professionals needs a mobile phone to be able to keep in touch with their parents or business partners and clients. Laptops, notebooks, PDAs and certain mobile phone units allow people to keep in touch with others through web browsing and email sending.

Portable gaming devices like the popular PlayStation Portable (PSP) and the Nintendo DS, and mp3 players, among others, are marketed as devices that entertain people. Gaming and listening music are habits or pasttimes (professions, even) that could make use of such gadgets.

Other devices also address the needs (required for work or for hobbies) of some people like the digital camera/SLR or digital camcorders. Such gadgets are considered useful by those who need them. Devices like PDAs and laptops that professionals consider important also sell well with people who require them in their work.

But are these gadgets REALLY a necessity?

Yes. And no.

The most common gadgets used are the mp3 players, mobile/smart phones, cameras, notebooks and gaming devices. If one tries to rank them according to their perceived usefulness, phones and notebooks/laptops would be on top. As stated, these gadgets are treated as necessities for communication and work. There are people who would even justify the necessity of these devices: phones are needed to be easily accessible and laptops contain important files needed for business.

Sure, everyone can relate to these justifications. But do people know that this “need” may have been created by the manufacturers themselves to be able to sell their products? It’s not that difficult to “create necessity” for these gadgets. Advertisements (and other people’s endorsements of these products) help make these devices seem like they’re necessary for an improved life(style).

This manipulation of “needs” has been achieved through these two (unnoticeable) methods:

(1) Devices are packaged as objects that address/fulfill the needs of people: mp3 players or cd players are for music lovers; compacts for people who need easy-to-use digital cameras; high-end DSLRs for photographers; pedometers that double as alarm systems for health buffs who might encounter danger during their their walk; Blu-Ray recorders for pc and video enthusiasts; GPS units for cars and in cellphones, etc.

(2) The market for these gadgets are bombarded with new devices regularly, resulting to consumers wanting to have the modified or newer versions of their smartphones or cameras in hand. The different features being added to the same gadgets are aimed at getting the attention of consumers and at making people more interested in their products.

For example, the internal memory of a mobile phone is only 1.5MB, so manufacturers “create” the need for the consumer to utilize the phone’s external memory via a miniSD card. Manufacturers sometimes come out with “limited” versions of products they’ve already released (usually, only the external features change), and people often go out and buy them.

This constant influx of new technology results in many types of reactions from people, but these two are the most general types: there are those who are insensitive to the abundance/trend of new gadgets, and then there are people who welcome and anticipate the release of these devices.

The passive (non)reaction could also mean that these people might be using the basic gadgets (cellphones, laptops, thumb drive, etc.) but are not obsessed about upgrading. The other kind of reaction could translate into these people getting affected easily by the newest trend in gadgets (higher megapixels for compacts, bigger memory capacity for phones and external storage devices, smaller and more portable music players, more features for PDAs, etc.) which, in extreme cases, could lead to them suffering gadget addiction.

There’s nothing wrong with being genuinely interested in various gadgets that might be useful for work. There’s also nothing wrong with keeping abreast of the newest wrinkle/s in technology and devices. What’s important is for people to know that what they’re buying are things that are necessary (and they’re not purchasing these to answer the “created” need invented by manufacturers).

It would be hard, though, to refrain from buying these attractive and (seemingly) useful gadgets especially if every time one passes a store, he sees so many new and appealing devices from various manufacturers who cunningly disguise luxury as necessity.