Old And Used Are Still Good
There are plenty of articles out there that tell you to get rid of the old and use the new. They’ll do anything they can to make you feel bad about what you have and convince you that a newer model is better. In this article, I’ll explain why you should keep your old devices.
I recently got my hands on a GoPro Hero 3 Black camera that was used. I had to look at the date of purchase for it to be less than a year old (a couple of days, actually). It was the most expensive GoPro you can get without paying nearly $400. The unit is about 8 months old and it has been taking high-quality pictures and videos ever since I opened the box. I was lucky enough to get a deal on it, but the price I paid is still far more than the average consumer would pay for this camera. Yet, I am in love with it.
I also had an old iPod 5G which I paid $100 for over 3 years ago from a friend. It has been giving me problems that were not easy or cheap to fix (at least not without major surgery), so I bought a new iPod. That’s where this article came from: my decission to keep the old and throw away the new.
So, please judge me...
Before I continue, you have to understand that I’m not a poor guy. I don’t mind spending money on new stuff because, in general, it is worth it. Let me explain why:
As soon as you buy that new smartphone, laptop or TV set (I know...I'm making the list longer), it is outdated. It is impossible to keep up with the pace of technology and its renewals without getting burned at some point in time. Even worse if you try to keep up with trends and get the next best thing. You will always feel like something is missing or that your device isn’t powerful enough for your needs anymore. This feeling has a price and the way you pay it is with money.
What they don’t tell you is that the next release of that product will have the same problems, or even more. The new device will be either bigger, heavier, faster or smaller and lighter, but it will also have its own set of issues. It is impossible for a company to create a perfect product if you think about how many things can fail at one point in time. They just don’t tell you that because they want your money.
Instead of getting rid of your old devices, I want you to take care of them. Upgrade the software, add memory or buy an inexpensive case for it. I know that a 3-year-old computer will have some problems. That's why you should upgrade the software and memory with that department in mind. I can guarantee you that your computer will still be useful after an upgrade.
Things just don't spoil: they get outdated.
The human race has always been used to getting better tools than their ancestors and they feel like they need it to function properly in society. Nowadays, if something breaks down, it is easier to replace it than repair it because of how expensive things are nowadays (especially if you are a student). Things just don’t spoil: they get outdated.
My friend and I were riding a motorcycle on a mountain road in Indonesia when I asked him how the brakes felt. He said something weird to me: “They work great!” Considering the fact that we were somewhere around three thousand feet above sea level, and going fast, I thought he should have told me they didn’t work well. But did they? Yes, they did, and I would probably have been able to stop before hitting a crater if I had them on my bike instead of hand-brakes. What he meant by his answer was that things just don’t break out of nowhere; things become obsolete, period.
Conclusion
You should not get rid of your old devices in the hope that they will work forever. Some of them will have to be replaced because they are simply obsolete. When this happens, there is nothing you can do about it, so just get your new device and let it go at that.
If you want to know more about this topic, I can recommend some books that cover the subject in much more detail: The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo and The Black Swan by Nassim Nicholas Taleb.