Tech Fatigue

Tech Fatigue is new buzzword that you may not have heard yet. Tech fatigue is the overwhelming feeling of ‘meh’ with the addition of every new software update, iphone upgrde, bigger screen tv etc. If you are a tech freak you must own several portable computing and digital media devices.  A smart phone,  pocket sized music and video player,  laptop, a net book for travelling and  touch screen tablet  are now standard issue gear for the urban tech lover.  We need all these gadgets because each gadget fulfills  specific need even though it’s capable of performing virtually all the functions the others perform.Only a handful of functions get remixed and shared between several portable  digital devices. While each is launched with the promise of something unique, what they usher in is the age of gadget fatigue.

So. Do we need all of these devices? Make a list of all the things your various gadgets promise to do. Now make a list of all the things you do with each of your gadgets. You’ll realise that you do essentially the same thing with each of them-play games, browse the web, use an office suite, connect to social media and make phone calls. Sure you can make arguments about experience, usability, convenience, and context. But at the end of the day, the million dollar question still remains: when that one single machine can do it all, why do you still have an array of gizmos serving a single specific function for each of your needs?

So, the next time you hop into the electronics store to check out the newest offerings at the altar of digital dreams, stop and ask yourself if your new acquisition is really ‘new’ or if it’s just a remixed version of what you alredy have cluttering in your laden backpack. When it comes to the world of technology and digital objects, Steve Jobs was right,” less is definitely more”.