Materialism in this day and age.

[Bogica]

reminds me i gotta try and find that mosfet for my laptop

It's a blessing and a curse. You know how to fix it, but you are lazy or forgetful (in my case). Took me 2 whole months to get myself to open up my power supply and replace all the capacitors. One hour and thirty minutes of replacing and soldering, took me 2 whole months...

[Yoinkerman]

Yeah. I'm like that with things. I don't intentionally be rough with stuff but if it doesn't last through regular use I'll just buy another one.

[mr moose]

I dont know about toys these days, but white goods are made at a lower quality.

my fridge died after 5 years and the fridge mechanic said it had a good run?, my grandmother has an old steel fridge that's been running since the early 80's.

 

I think the mentality is shit that is made now doesnt last as long so its a two way street

 

I was talking about fridges just yesterday, mines coming up 10 years and I expected it to last 20 (that's what the old one did) sadly not anymore and the stupid thing is the technology is exactly the same a pump and tubes nothing more.

 

 

To all those banging on about first world problems, sure it is, but that's only half the point.  When I was in my teen years and starting to amass a tool collection, good quality tools where very expensive and came with  a life time warranty (literally for as long as you owned the tool it was covered), nowadays the fine print indicates that a lifetime = 10 years. 

[Guest Philosophy]

back in my day, hot wheels cars were made out of stuff that can break your toe if you dropped them. 

90s Hot Wheels were awesome!

[Tocsin_786]

90s Hot Wheels were awesome!

they really were, check this badboy out.

 

 

[Aphexx]

 

Lately I've been feeling the social pressures to purchase a newer car even though I know my current one inside out and have a complete and working separate drivetrain on hand for it in case of problems. and now I see more and more of cuba due to the recent changes in U.S. relations and it astounds me how wasteful of creatures we are. it is possible to keep these works of art and steel running with a little elbow grease and duct tape. yes I totally understand the merits of new and efficient tech but surely the resource investment of all that steel and rubber is worth something
the other thing I've been watching way too much of is home renovation shows. those people tear rip and trash homes with a maniacal bloodlust. I love watching it, I derive pleasure in seeing the destruction scenes and I revel in nirvana as I see the new kitchen or bedrooms but man if there isn't a big part of me that wonders how much bigger the landfill is now that I got to see that bit of Home reno porn

edit: I had a crazy rant about population control that Bill Maher mentioned but I'll redact that, I can sense how crazy it was even as I was typing it.

[Maheshvara]

@mr moose - You didn't use the term materialism properly, but that's beside the point.

 

Well, his parents are ones to blame, they brought him up like that.

 

Companies do it because they can get away with it... A few decades ago that was unthinkable... There's also the fact that cheap materials are, well, cheap, and companies can earn more by using it.

 

 

@Bogica, @techswede

 

- I don't know much about fixing stuff like that, since i was never taught it. I do know how to do some small fixes around the house, replace cables (but i need full concentration for this, not watching tech videos on YT and doing it at the same time...), and i know far more than the average joe today... Hell, when i asked a friend of mine if she knew how to change those copper wires in old breaker switches... Her answer was no... People don't want to learn that today, they'd rather pay someone to do it for them... I can't remember when was the last time a repairman came to our house to fix some small problem....

[Camul]

...

 

Put one of those kids into the US with some money, they'll be bitching like the rest of us after a couple of years.

[HealerHealer]

[CriticalTrees]

Any RC bought from a big box store is crap. Brands like Walkrea Syma and Double horse are master race compared to RC bought at target.

[mr moose]

@mr moose - You didn't use the term materialism properly, but that's beside the point.

 

 

Yeah, I sorta did, the problem is I am proposing a philosophical question, I was only using product quality as the example because it was relevant to my initial thoughts.

 

The question was: "Do people not see the value in looking after things?  can this materialistic position be a precursor to many of the social problems we now face, where people say if it doesn't work out just walk away and try again?"

 

Said in another way:

 

Materialism is the philosophy that matter is the fundamental core in nature and that mental consciousness is the result of interacting with said material. It differs slightly from materialism (buying stuff in order to maintain a status)  but similar in that it also effects our mental condition.  So can this form of consumerism, founded on a materialistic philosophy also extend to our social constructs and effect social interactions?

[Lewellyn]

Lot of ageism going on in this thread. A lot of the fallacy of relative privation as well.

[mr moose]

Lot of ageism going on in this thread. A lot of the fallacy of relative privation as well.

care to detail what you are trying to insinuate?

[Guest]

Old people thread.

No, this generation is not that much more messed up. Yes, they are less handy.

No, kids do not know the value of money, but they are kids man. They will learn later.

[Lewellyn]

Old people thread.

No, this generation is not that much more messed up. Yes, they are less handy.

No, kids do not know the value of money, but they are kids man. They will learn later.

 

You'd think that wouldn't be hard to understand.

[Guest]

Oh come on, if that about the girl really is true then those kids are very rare that is just being spoiled beyond belief.

[Guest]

You'd think that wouldn't be hard to understand.

Yep. I learned it as a teen too, my father forced me to work at 15, then I found a job at a supermarket, stocking shelves.

Felt good man, that first 160 euro, felt like a king.

But kids are kids, you can't expect them to know the value.

[mr moose]

You'd think that wouldn't be hard to understand.

Except that it isn't that black and white, it's not about old versus young, it's about the changes we see in society.  about the importance we place on material objects, are throw away products a good thing or a bad thing? and does this mindest extend to non material things?  Anyone who says "kids of today" in this context has missed the point.

[Guest]

Except that it isn't that black and white, it's not about old versus young, it's about the changes we see in society.  about the importance we place on material objects, are throw away products a good thing or a bad thing? and does this mindest extend to non material things?  Anyone who says "kids of today" in this context has missed the point.

Depends on the product.

How long should a 30-50 dollar RC helicopter last? I don't know tbh.

[mr moose]

Depends on the product.

How long should a 30-50 dollar RC helicopter last? I don't know tbh.

it's not so much how long it should last, it's how we approach the value of a product to begin with.  we all know a cheap product is going to break, but should people instinctively look at a product and accept that cheap throwaway products are a good thing, or should we place more value on what we have? I.E we pay less more often? and the really important bit, does this mentality effect other parts of our lives? I.E would more relations ships that are less meaningful be better? or would we prefer less relationships that are more meaningful? 

[Lewellyn]

Depends on the product.

How long should a 30-50 dollar RC helicopter last? I don't know tbh.

 

Not long. A 400 dollar phone doesn't last long if you drop it either. But if you never held your phone because you were afraid of dropping it, then why buy it? At some point, any person regardless of age decides not to keep spending money on shit that they break and start wising up to taking care of it better. The definition of materialism is not "careless consumerism" but rather "making importance of material things more than experiences or thought"

 

In this instance, being so cautious about breaking something you paid for that you would sacrifice an experience of doing what you wanted with it, I'd say that is more materialistic.

[Monkey Dust]

Generally consumer stuff is cheaper (adjusting for inflation) than it used to be, but it has suffered a corresponding drop in quality and maintainability. Phones and their non-removable batteries are a great example, even if the phone does last *gasp* 3 years it will be useless as the battery won't last a day. Very little of what we buy is economically viable to fix when it breaks, and hence is regarded as disposable.

[mr moose]

Generally consumer stuff is cheaper (adjusting for inflation) than it used to be, but it has suffered a corresponding drop in quality and maintainability. Phones and their non-removable batteries are a great example, even if the phone does last *gasp* 3 years it will be useless as the battery won't last a day. Very little of what we buy is economically viable to fix when it breaks, and hence is regarded as disposable.

 

whilst I get what you are saying, I have to tell everyone that my desire from 2010 (5 years old) still lasts 2-3 days on one charge (depending on usage) and still physically works as brand new. The only reason I have a new phone is because the os is so old I was getting tired of app incompatibilities.  Other than that it still texts, calls, calendars, photos, plays music, surfs the web, etc.