From the Desk

Humans can be surprisingly impatient, especially when it comes to phones.

Apple released the new iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C Friday along with iOS7, the company’s newest operating system for its phones. As expected, lines stretched on for days, and Apple struggled to keep up with demand for the device.

As I watched my classmates plan their iPhone purchases or anxiously wait for iOS7 to download, I could not help but notice the incredible impatience that smartphones have created. Some people even chose to download the update right after it became available Friday morning, leaving them without a phone for much of the day when they could have just downloaded it overnight.

As an Android owner, I have seen how addicting a smartphone can be, and I can only imagine how much stronger that effect can be with an iPhone. In a business sense, Apple has worked hard to create a brand that millions of people keep coming back to, and I have no problem with that. However, I think that it is time we consider what our buying habits say about us as a society.

Leasure

Leasure

The fact that people waited hours upon hours in line, many times to replace a now-outdated phone they bought less than a year ago, astounds me. Technology moves at a lightning-fast pace these days, but we, and our wallets for that matter, are not always required to keep up.

I know several people who own outdated, simple phones, and they could not be happier with their decision to stick with what works. In fact, I would say that those people seemed much more content with their phone than any iPhone owner I have met.

There is nothing wrong with buying the best phone on the market and enjoying it. But when the pursuit of the newest device becomes the highest priority seemingly every few months, it is time to re-evaluate some priorities.

I understand the appeal of an iPhone, but it does not take much technology to show how impatient we really are. So when the iPhone 6 inevitably renders today’s iPhone 5S useless, remember that “wait” is not a four-letter word.

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