There is a story that says that during the space race in the 1960’s, when NASA realized
that regular pens would not work in zero gravity, they spent millions of dollars to develop a high-tech pen which would work in outer space. The story goes on to say that the Soviets encountered a similar problem. Their solution was to use a pencil instead. This is a fun story, but it turns out that it is not entirely true. While it is not entirely true, there is still a lesson to be learned from the story: we sometimes spend a lot of time and money on high-tech gadgets to solve problems when a perfectly cheap and simple solution is readily available.
A co-worker of mine had a similar story. She told me that her daughter, who had a newborn child, was freaking out because the bottle warmer wasn’t working. My co-worker said she rolled her eyes and told her that back in the days, they would just boil some water to warm the bottle. Problem solved.
There seem to be tons of products marketed to us consumers as a necessity but are far from it. Sure, a lot of these products do probably provide some sort of convenience but at what cost? This seems especially true with many baby products like the one mentioned above. There’s also the Diaper Genie which requires that you purchase expensive refills after you buy the Diaper Genie garbage can. To avoid the smell of dirty diapers, why not just take the trash out a little more often? Problem solved. And then there are wipe warmers…I can’t even… Another place you see products that apparently fill a need we consumers have are the As Seen on TV products. We can make the perfect quesadilla with a quesadilla maker, make ramen faster with the rapid ramen noodle cooker, save time slicing an apple with an apple slicer. Oftentimes, it seems like a solution searching for a problem to fix. Then there are the latest and greatest tech inventions. Is the iPhone 6s really that big of an upgrade over your iPhone 5? Do you need a computer strapped to your face like the Google Glass?
Are the fancy new features on a newer car really something that you’ll be using all that often?
I’ve fallen into this trap of thinking I would find enjoyment in a new tech gadget when I really didn’t have much use for it. This may not apply to those who are really into photography, but I bought a fancier camera right before my son was born. I figured it could take better action shots and that it would have clearer pictures. It is much more bulky than my iPhone so it turns out that it was rarely used and the pictures my iPhone camera took turn out just fine. I bought a Nexus tablet during the whole craze when everyone and their mother bought a tablet. My Google Nexus was deeply discounted and it was much cheaper than an iPad so I rationalized the purchase as a win win. It turns out that I rarely used the tablet and it just sat there collecting dust. For my computing needs, my laptop worked just fine. And if I just wanted to search for something quick online or use an app, I just used my iPhone. Even after so little use, the tablet died on me, so it really was a waste of money.
New technology and gadgets are exciting. Not only are they exciting, they often make life a little easier, although sometimes there are consequences as well. So when you see that next cool gadget being advertised, ask yourself if it really is something you’d use or that would make life easier, or if you already have something that fulfills that purpose.
What other unnecessary gadgets have you seen that are utterly useless?