this post was submitted on 24 Nov 2025
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Technology

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Americans are holding onto devices longer than ever and it's costing the economy (cnbc.com)
submitted 3 days ago by alyaza@beehaw.org to c/technology@beehaw.org
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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.

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[–] gandalf_der_12te@discuss.tchncs.de 4 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

Smartphone companies are trying to push phones with planned-obsolescence on people sothat people buy new phones more frequently, and that's a bad thing for the consumers because they have to spend more money.

The best way to respond to that is if consumers prefer buying smartphones from companies who have produced long-lived smartphones in the past. That means if company A produces shitty, short-lived smartphones, people indeed buy a new smartphone after a short while but from another company B who is willing to develop better quality.