The issue of products being intentionally manufactured in a way to break down or wear out is becoming more and more relevant. Such production principle may influence all kinds of products and affect every field of human life and particularly product consumption. Many people argue that a decade ago, products had higher quality and longer service life. On the one hand, such a tendency may be linked to mass production expansion and subsequent decrease in average quality. On the other hand, intentionally manufacturing short-lifespan products may be highly beneficial for businesses. Such a strategy is called planned obsolescence, and many manufacturers implement it (Maitre-Ekern & Dalhammar, 2016). If a particular relatively vital product wears out, there may be no other option besides buying a new one, which would increase the demand and revenue of the manufacturer. That strategy may be particularly relevant in terms of information technologies and digital products. I believe that this is a planned product modification approach that many companies implement, and there is a list of direct and indirect evidence for that.
Computer and smartphone manufacturers are most commonly accused of intentionally creating products with short service life. Such attitude may have some objective justification, as the rapid development of digital technologies causes technological obsolescence of products. However, I believe that, for example, smartphone manufacturers such as Apple artificially accelerate both perceived and real obsolescence of their products. In many cases, objective technological development is used as justification. Software updates are frequently not designed for older models and cause significant performance issues. The strategy may also be indirectly represented by legally fighting against the right to repair (Svensson et al., 2018). Manufacturers intentionally complicate the repair process forcing the customers to buy a new product. Such an approach may be significantly beneficial for businesses yet harmful for ordinary people and the environment as, for example, it may increase e-waste.
References
Maitre-Ekern, E., & Dalhammar, C. (2016). Regulating planned obsolescence: A review of legal approaches to increase product durability and reparability in Europe. Review of European, Comparative & International Environmental Law, 25(3), 378–394. Web.
Svensson, S., Richter, J. L., Maitre-Ekern, E., Pihlajarinne, T., Maigret, A., & Dalhammar, C. (2018). The emerging ‘right to repair’ legislation in the EU and the US. Proceedings of Going Green Care Innovation, Vienna, 26-28.