The average American now holds onto their smartphone for 29 months, according to a recent survey by Reviews.org, and that cycle is getting longer. The average was around 22 months in 2016.
While squeezing as much life out of your device as possible may save money in the short run, especially amid widespread fears about the strength of the consumer and job market, it might cost the economy in the long run, especially when device hoarding occurs at the level of corporations.
Research released by the Federal Reserve last month concludes that each additional year companies delay upgrading equipment results in a productivity decline of about one-third of a percent, with investment patterns accounting for approximately 55% of productivity gaps between advanced economies. The good news: businesses in the U.S. are generally quicker to reinvest in replacing aging equipment. The Federal Reserve report shows that if European productivity had matched U.S. investment patterns starting in 2000, the productivity gap between the U.S and European economic heavyweights would have been reduced by 29 percent for the U.K., 35 percent for France, and 101% for Germany.
Companies act like the general population simply OWES them business. We do not.
On that note, please refuse to participate in Black Friday and keep your Christmas low key and sentimental.
That’s my plan. Primarily food and handmade/carefully picked gifts rather than lavish this year.
Also wtf? How is 2 years “a long time” to hold onto an expensive machine? Mine have been at least 4-5 years between buys. Products are supposed to last.
Specifically, Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday, boycott Target, Amazon (including Whole Foods), and Home Depot even harder than usual: https://weaintbuyingit.com/
I buy my upgrades used on ebay. Check your seller before buying, of course, but that does mean more money in the pockets of people who are trying to get rid of unneeded stuff.
Great tip. Getting things used is a great way to give in a little bit less to capitalist wealth pumps.
They think Jeff Bezos is still the CEO of Amazon. Not very well-informed ...
That's your takeaway?
Do you have a problem with my observation?
Clearly.
Is there a reason that you're unable to explain it?
Already did: You're focusing on a minor detail rather than the bigger picture, and I think that's kind of silly given the stakes here.
The entire rationale given for the Amazon boycott on that site is an action taken by a former CEO. There's no shortage of reasons to boycott Amazon, but it seems pretty ridiculous how little thought went into that page.
I'm not sure if you're sealioning—or just not reading the full page. Here are some other quotes from it about Amazon, specifically in regards to boycott rationale: