Oct. 31, 2011
Julianne Sedillo
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Lately, there has been a surplus of new luxury items specifically made for the richest of the rich. Ridiculously frivolous items are being made for the people who have nothing to do with their money but to spend it on frivolous items, because giving excess money to charity would be much too logical in the eyes of the rich.
An entirely new market has been created for these people who feel the need to excessively flaunt their wealth. Items include a diamond-crested laptop for $1 million, water that is infused with “anti-aging and anti-stress elements” derived from pure gold that costs $24,000 per bottle, and even a $6,000 toilet, equipped with three pre-set radio stations, a seat-warmer and an automated seat lifter.
It seems as if society today is becoming more and more infatuated with superficial and materialistic items. These items, however, aren’t just for the rich anymore. Things that we consider to be everyday items are not things that we actually need – they are only things that make our lives easier.
Take remotes, for example. Since when has humanity become so lazy that we can’t walk five feet from the couch to the TV to change the channel? Many of us have never even owned a TV that doesn’t have a remote, so even comprehending not having one is difficult.
Another example is those new cars with rear-view cameras. Needless to say, these cameras that pops up on a screen when the car is put in reverse are pretty nifty. But are these commodities really needed? No. However, with the way society is moving, most of us won’t even be able to fathom how to drive a car without one in a couple years.
With more and more of these items becoming everyday, supposed “necessities,” our kids and our grandkids are likely to not even know how to flush the toilet or turn off the lights, let alone lead a self-sufficient life without the help of technology.
This type of dependency is already happening in our language with the new text lingo that is becoming generally accepted. It is not hard to imagine that someday in the near future, our entire lives will be dictated by the technology that we use.
This isn’t to say that technology does not have its benefits. Technology has helped humanity make leaps and bounds with cell phones, computers and the internet, but how we use these tools in the future will determine how our descendants will function in the future.
Already, there are plenty of ways that technology is becoming an addiction. Just look at the sidewalk outside of an Apple Store the next time the new generation of the iPhone comes out – the lines of people camping out for a new, overpriced phone is outrageous. We need to be careful that a mass addiction of technology does not happen.
If society in general finds technology to be a necessity, rather than simply a tool, we will become nothing more than mindless droids in the future. Ultimately, we need to become more mindful of the ways that we use technology and more aware of what we think we need in our lives to function. If we work towards being more self-sufficient and using technology simply as a tool, rather than a way of life, technology can work to improve society.