Re-evaluating Our Reliance on Advanced Electronic Devices: A Debate on Essentials versus Extras
In the fast-paced world of technology, the debate rages on: are high-tech gadgets necessities or luxuries?
On one hand, these devices play a crucial role in enabling economic participation, education, healthcare, communication, and productivity. Access to digital devices such as smartphones, computers, and home internet is fundamental for engaging in modern life. Multiple devices enable diverse and productive online engagement, which affects educational and economic outcomes, making them critical for social inclusion. However, low-income and marginalized groups experience significant digital divides due to the lack of access, which compounds inequalities in opportunities and outcomes. The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored this by demonstrating how digital technologies underpin essential activities like telemedicine, remote work, education, and public health efforts—making these tools vital rather than optional [1][2].
On the other hand, high-tech gadgets and accessories are often associated with style, brand identity, and convenience beyond basic utility. Luxury tech accessories often blend functionality with aesthetics and status symbols, targeting users who seek to elevate their social or professional image. These products are marketed as smart investments that enhance lifestyle and signal intentionality, often distinguished from basic devices by their price, design, or exclusivity [3].
The implications of each viewpoint differ substantially. Viewing high-tech gadgets as necessities highlights the importance of ensuring equitable access to bridge the digital divide, as exclusion can lead to social and economic disadvantages. It underscores the need for policy interventions, infrastructure investment, and affordable technology solutions.
Viewing them as luxuries reflects the risk of deepening socio-economic stratification where only wealthier individuals can afford premium devices, reinforcing status differences. Furthermore, luxury gadgets may foster consumerism and raise concerns about planned obsolescence.
Embracing these technologies as necessary also brings awareness to related risks such as privacy breaches, legal liabilities, and data protection challenges, especially in smart homes where continuous data collection raises new vulnerabilities for users [4].
Behind every sleek gadget lies a complex network of production, transportation, energy consumption, and eventual disposal, contributing to a throwaway culture and generating millions of tons of e-waste annually. This raises concerns about the environmental impact of our reliance on high-tech gadgets.
In summary, seeing high-tech gadgets as necessities stresses their role in inclusion and survival in the digital era, while the luxury perspective emphasizes discretionary use aligned with lifestyle and identity. Each framing influences how society manages access, regulation, and innovation. As we move forward, it's crucial to strike a balance between these perspectives, ensuring equitable access and promoting sustainable practices, to create a future where technology serves humanity, rather than defines it.
[1] Internet Access in the Time of COVID-19: Addressing the Digital Divide. (2020). Brookings Institution.
[2] The Digital Divide: The Impact of COVID-19 on Education. (2020). The World Bank.
[3] The Rise of Luxury Tech: A New Market Emerges. (2019). Forbes.
[4] Smart Homes, Smart Risks: Privacy, Security, and Consumer Protection in the Internet of Things. (2019). Stanford Law School Center for Internet and Society.
These devices, such as smartphones, computers, and home internet, not only play a crucial role in everyday life but also enable economic participation, education, healthcare, communication, and productivity, making high-tech gadgets more than just luxuries [1]. On the other hand, luxury tech accessories, with their emphasis on style, brand identity, and status symbols, are often seen as necessities for those seeking to elevate their social or professional image, blending functionality with aesthetics [3].
