Modem society has become characterised by constantly renewing and replacing items rather than maintaining and keeping them. There are a number of factors that can be attributed to this trend, along with a number of significant concerns, as will now be presented.
One of the main points is the pace at which new technology introduced into the market. It is commonly accepted that a personal computer has a limited lifespan, depending on the amount of use it has. Meanwhile, the technology involved rapidly changes, meaning that products can become obsolete very quickly.
The other change that has had a significant impact on our interest in retaining items is that craftsmanship, and its associated costs, has meant that many people are opting to purchase cheaper. An example of this can be seen with household furniture. Only a few generations back, a solid wooden table, hand-built buy carpenters, would be expensive but would also last to become an antique. These days, cheap, mass produced furniture is available instead.
As for problem this can cause, the main issue here would be one of waste. The average person produces over 500 kilograms of waste each year, and this includes electronic goods less than ten years old. Once better models are available or problems begin to arise, most people simply discard these items and purchase new ones. In turn, many societies are facing an additional problem in that we no longer take care of our possessions as previous generations did.
To sum up, societies now generally prefer to replace rather than repair, and unless there is a return to more traditional, more durable items, this is a trend that is likely to continue.
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