Happy Birthday, 2/15

"The Cult of the New"

This weekend i reflected upon this idea quite thoroughly. I came to the conclusion that it is silly of me to think that a newer product is better than that of the old. But, how come then, do we as consumers believe this? The answer is simple. The age of the "millenials" is all about new, improved, and faster products that supposedly make one's life "easier". I have indirectly been told this my whole life through all sorts of media outlets, which has led me to subconsciously believe this idea. It's silly I know, but it's hard to get out of this mentality of wanting the new product, because for me at least, I am surrounded by friends, family, teachers, etc, with the newest and latest cutting edge technology.

I think products keep being re-invented because technology keeps improving itself and there's a greater demand for the product that works the best. So that product, eventually will keep making itself better, and then other products will follow that product. For example, when Apple came out with the iPhone, virtually every other phone company came out with a similar type of phone. I think traditionalists (like my grandfather) would stick with the old simple cell phones, but Habermas would be inclined to try the newer product out because he believes that “newer is better”. Another example of this I find relevant to our school is the new white boards that are seen in a couple of the classrooms around campus. These new white boards are extra special because once something is erased from them…they can remember what was written on them before and be shown in another class (correct me if I’m wrong)…or maybe you can print out the notes that were written on the whiteboard. My point is…what was wrong with the other standard white boards? Beyond that what was wrong with chalkboards (other than the horrifying noises they make)?