Feeling OBSOLETE in this Modern Consumption Driven World!

I realized, some years ago, that I have become "obsolete" or maybe "redundant" in this modern world of ours.

To clarify a bit, I have become obsolete in the context of being part of our modern consumer-driven society.

I say this because I was looking around my office, then our bedroom and the rest of the house, and realized that I have purchased absolutely nothing new in several years. The only thing somewhat new is our dishwasher, which we we bought to replace the one that had been little more than a built-in "drying rack" since it started leaking a couple of years back.

To be fair, I'm not buying used meat or toothpaste, but pretty much anything semi-durable we own — from clothing and shoes to computer hardware and cars — is getting towards being a decade or more old.

When we got a new car in the spring, it was our daughter's 1997 Nissan... it was new to US.

My computer — from which I write this — is from the year after we moved into this house, so 2012. My flatbed scanner? It's from 2006 and works just fine. Our washer and dryer have rounded the decade mark. I believe the fridge is from about 2002, or so. The clothes I am wearing predominantly came from the Goodwill store.

And so on, and so forth.

What these things all have in common is that they are still working and I have no interest in replacing them, as some sort of "fashion statement" or to get some kind of mysterious ego-gratification from being able to convey to the world that "mine is newer than yours." And when any of them do break (or we simply choose to get a replacement), you're more likely to find us at a second-hand store, or thrift store, or craigslist, than at Home Depot or a department store, or the endless virtual aisles of Amazon.

Hence, I am "obsolete."

It also makes me a corporate marketer's worst nightmare, because the words "new and improved" are all but meaningless to me. I see them, and all I want to say is "show me, don't tell me."

For most intents and purposes, people who live by a "recycle and reuse" value system are regarded as obsolete. That's actually a somewhat ironic fact, because upcycling as actually considered cool. In the eyes of some, I am practically unpatriotic because I don't support the "system" that built this world. I don't use and consume enough stuff.

And this afternoon, it really struck home just how obsolete I have become when my phone — which I still think is pretty "smart" — was too old to run some app I thought was interesting.

Some might argue that it all makes me a sad individual who's not getting all the benefits of modern society... but the bottom line is that I am pretty content, in my obsolescence!

I by no means have anything against technology and innovation, in fact, it fascinates me! I just don't have much need OWN stuff I don't need, even if it's very cool. And and awful lot of people have lots of stuff they "don't need," even though they swear that they "couldn't possibly live without it."

Just for the record, I am actually not as curmudgeonly as I may sound, because I can relate to "excess" on some levels, because I certainly have no shortage of actual paper books and old audio CDs. That said, I only very rarely have bought new books and CDs.

So what prompted me to write this somewhat anti-capitalistic, anti-consumerism post? It was actually prompted by a vague sadness that even though I thoroughly enjoy life, and living, I have become largely irrelevant to the core values that seem to run the "normal" world.

Then again, maybe I am just getting OLD!

Thanks for reading and have a great reminder of your week!

How about YOU? Are you a "good little consumer?" Or do you live for second hand shops and upcycling? As always, comments, feedback and other interaction is invited and welcomed! Because — after all — SOCIAL content is about interacting, right? Leave a comment — share your experiences — be part of the conversation!

(All text and images by the author, unless otherwise credited. This is ORIGINAL CONTENT, created expressly for this platform — NOT A CROSSPOST!!!)
Created at 20210129 01:01 PST
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