Despite the recession, technology manufacturers continue to innovate apace, bringing ever more complex gadgets to market by the month. But, Martin Saunders asks, why are we never satisfied with what we have, and what is the endless pursuit of the 'next thing' doing to us? You need an iPad. You really do. It fits in your bag; it can contain thousands of books and magazines in its memory; it has a gorgeous touch screen that’s perfect for watching movies and playing games. You can store your music on it. You can store thousands of photos on it – photos so average that you’d never dream of paying to develop them, but in this digital age, who cares about that? Just put them all on your iPad. Go on. It’s so shiny.
But hold on a minute. Did you just do what I suggested, and buy an iPad? Because if so, I’ve got news for you: the iPad is old news. You might have just spent a small fortune buying it, but it is so late 2010. Now it’s all about the iPad 2. Just like the old, outdated, redundant model, but with a much needed forward-facing camera, availability in a range of colours and…the smug sense that you’ve kept up with the cutting edge of technology and culture. I don’t care if you just sold one of your own feet to buy the iPad! It’s time to sell the other one; unless of course you want to get stuck behind the times. 3DTV This isn’t even a ludicrous caricature of Apple’s marketing for its ‘gamechanging’ tablet device. It is no more than a strongly emphasised reading of their own publicity. Technology is now being manufactured with a remarkably short expiry date, with new, even better models of every device we know (and a few new ones) waiting eagerly around the corner. Fiercely competing mobile phone manufacturers are announcing a new high watermark in innovation every week. Film fans who have just upgraded their VHS video libraries to DVD are pondering on whether to make a similar step to Blu-ray, or hold fire for the emergence of an even whizzier format. And of course television viewers who have recently made the leap to HD are now left wondering if they leapt far enough… Because the next thing – at least at this moment – is 3DTV. It’s no longer good enough to view an image in two dimensions. Following the lead of cinema chains which invite their audiences to wear ridiculous sunglasses during every performance (and pay extra for the privilege), television manufacturers are now bringing to market screens which require the family to do the same at home. One current advert features a family of six, all seated in front of the new 3DTV in their specially provided 3D glasses. Since they’re indoors, they look ridiculous – like a group of British holidaymakers in denial about the lack of Margate sunshine. Yet this is the dream being pushed – buy this television, so you too can wear the glasses. You don’t want to be the only one without them, do you? Supply and Demand At present, 3D broadcast is still fairly experimental. Plenty of films are available in the format (as the movie critic Mark Kermode argues, these mainly differ from 2D films only in the amount of pointy things thrust towards camera), but due to the expense involved, innovation has been slow. Sky are at the forefront, having begun to shoot and broadcast live football in 3D and, intriguingly, also ballet. Rationally, one may ask why anyone needs to watch football or ballet in 3D. All have enthralled audiences for years without the addition of balls or people flying towards the screen. Yet such is the momentum created around the constant improvement of technology that many consumers are caught up in a whirlwind of nonsense. We must have the next thing. Some responsibility for this phenomenon undoubtedly lies with those who manufacture and market technology. New products are part of a sales strategy which renders them obsolete within a few years, and many would argue that ‘they don’t make ’em like they used to’ – that product durability is being reduced in order to ensure we replace our ‘stuff’ more regularly. Yet ultimately, supply is only driven by demand. As a society we not only have the gadget bug, but we are even excited by the idea that our gadgets will need to be regularly upgraded. My parents’ first TV saw them from 1970 to 1995. My first one lasted five years, and when it broke down I saw it as a cause to celebrate – because now I could buy that LCD I’d had my eye on. The Gift of Simplicity For the past six months, I’ve been studying the Spiritual Disciplines. Though countercultural, each of these ancient tools for connecting with God has a profound modern application – perhaps none more pertinent than the Discipline of Simplicity. This practice of stripping back the unnecessary things that we ‘want’, and focusing on those things which we truly ‘need’, stands in opposition to this trend. In the West in the 21st century, we are defined by our consumption – buying stuff and then throwing it away is likely to be what history remembers us for; especially when the resources start running out. I’m not anti-capitalist, but we simply don’t need half the things we buy. The gift of simplicity is that it saves us from the empty lie that in order to be happy, we need to have more. In fact, true contentment is found in having less, but having the right things, and a right focus. In Philippians 4:10–13, Paul talks about how he has discovered this secret – that happiness is not found in having plenty, nor in having little, but in ‘him who gives [us] strength.’ When our excitement is rooted in the next advance in entertainment, rather than the next advance of the kingdom, we’ve allowed the riches of the world to deceive us. Yet when we decide to operate counterculturally, the space we create in our lives gives God room to move. It’s our job to stand for something more significant than the acceptance of the consumerist dream. The desire to increase the quality of our TV pictures isn’t a reflection of our innate longing to perceive reality more clearly – but simply that we’re getting caught up in the never-ending escalation of ‘things’. To pursue the next thing for its own sake is to pursue an idol. And don’t forget: the fall of man started with the foolish consumption of an apple product...
Check out Martin's Five Things to be watching out for, here
