To wonder what people actually expect and why they can’t just be happy to live simply?

[Terrazzomazzo]

So many posts on here of people saying that they are running out of money and “I have no fun money” et. Why can’t people just be happy that they have enough to pay their mortgage pay their bills and feed their family and clothe their children? When did holidays , excess “stuff” and weekends of fun days out and take away etc become a given right and expectation?

You’re just making excuses. There are many options for cheap smart phones and laptops, everybody doesn’t necessarily need both and certainly don’t need to be updating every year to the most expensive. It’s not just parents,kids don’t need to have a fortune spent on their tech use either. The amount of kids I see with the latest most expensive phones on their way to school is shocking.

I lived simply as a child. Council house, no car and barely any treats, holiday was a caravan somewhere and travel to it on a coach or train , sometimes not even that. It wasn’t terrible , but it was boring sometimes. We always had good food , home cooked meals and so on.
I speak to others my own age ( 60 plus) and they had different experiences, parents bought a house or they went abroad mum worked etc. Their childhoods were different to mine, it’s so hard to judge really.

This is just a bun fight over what consumerism is acceptable and what isn't.

The IT industry is capitalism at its most rampant. I’ve always been hyper-conscious of this and really resent it. And I’m not even left-wing!

I remember about 1999 when I did a computer course, saying to an IT- loving friend: but surely people aren’t going to spend thousands of pounds buying new hardware and software every couple of years? He looked at me as if I was a moron and said “Well, yes!”.

And here we are. What a load of sheepy mugs we all are. I’m constantly amazed by how much (even left-wing) people are prepared to just shell out on these ultimate trophies of capitalism: devices. You always “need” 🙄🤣 the latest, the best, the one everyone is talking about. Yeah, right.

They’ve really got us all hooked, haven’t they ?

Oh - and no wonder education budgets are so strained. Once schools just had to buy a new set of textbooks every few years. Now they have to replace banks of computers and update expensive software every couple of years. Crazy.

@Bra848tofjn how can you tell what phone is the latest just by walking/driving past a group of teenagers?

I couldn't tell you what the latest model of iphone is called let alone point it out in a line up of teenager's hands.
To do this you must be obsessed with phones.

I agree

A lot of tech is built or designed, to make you update it regularly though.

Im pretty untechy and find it quite stressful to get new phones/laptops. I have a sim only contract so I dont automatically update my phone after 2 years....but after 3 or 4 years it started losing battery really quickly. I bought a chrome book in 2020 and have been using it (i dont use it every day- possibly once a week) since then. But the last few months it has been really slow and laggy and making tasks take way longer than they should....so I bought a new laptop.

Huh I've never really thought about the rising costs of tech for schools.

I absolutely HATE getting a new phone or laptop and having to learn to use it. I had the same desktop computer for about 20 years and just replaced parts if they broke. I miss the desktop actually.

Not really. The latest model of iPhone comes with advertising and news coverage every year ,those that want you to buy ensure it’s hard to miss.

Yes I know how it's advertised.

You still need to be very expect and interested to know which iphone model teenagers have in their hands as you walk/drive past them in the street. For starters almost everyone has a phone cover, for protection, fun and to easily know which phone is yours.

It's very hard to distinguish what model of iphone teens have, a lot have ones passed down from their parents because teenagers lose stuff, don't look after things, they get "trained up" on hand-me downs. Or refurbished ones of older models. A considerably higher percentage than teens with brand new models.

You said The amount of kids I see with the latest most expensive phones on their way to school is shocking.

To know this, your interest in mobile phones must go above and beyond just seeing the adverts. It must do. So whilst you might not like teenagers having expensive phones to make the statement, quite firmly and definitely, the latest, most expensive phones, that's what you said, you must be obsessed with them. Or you are making up statements for effect.

I have an iphone, it's H's old one. I don't even know what model my own iphone is and that's in my hand daily!

If you have a teenager they will be able to tell you which iPhone all their friends and most of their class have. And how they acquired them (not hand me downs from parents!).

Not in an 'everyone has a new phone' way, they can name each person specifically.

Eliminating a fire hazzard for those who like candles? No idea, just guessing.

Most new iphones are bought by young adults with a lot of disposable cash, not teenagers, or even teenager's parents.

Apple know their market! The teens get refurbished ones, still a decent money spinner for Apple, if you put all your photos, music, data into the AppleCloud, it's really hard to get it out. So give the teens refurbished ones and they are likely to be customers for life.

Apple on the other hand are a hardware company, they don't keep their users data, governments have to take Apple to court to get them to release messages, they take user privacy very seriously, more than other mobile phone companies, they don't make money on selling users data and have incredible security measures in place for their hardware. That is what you pay for with an Apple phone, a company who, for the time being, still respects the privacy of what is on people's phones. Not even Apple can read your messages they are that well encrypted.

So I do know a fair bit about mobile phones, and user security.
Still couldn't pick out an individual model of iPhone in a line up, not even a close up one, never mind a brief look at a teenager's hand! And I don't think you can either.

I dont think i would recognise the latest iPhone, either, or notice other peoples phones. DD is the only one in the house with an iphone and weve always bought refurbished or second hand ones, I think hers is a 13....but to me it looks like her old one! She bought it off a friend....who's dad had upgraded and given his DD his previous one

We've got two teenagers and bet they couldn't!

Just asked the youngster before he left, erm X has an iphone 11 I think I don't know and X has a maybe 13pro, didn't know the other 6 or so These are the two he walks home with and it takes them 45 minutes most nights to walk, no exaggeration, 300 metres! So they must eventually run out of things to say, but the ones he doesn't crawl along the pavement with, no idea.

So not the obsessive "what model iPhone you got" that you seem to indicate is prevalent in all teenagers.

🤷‍♀️Think what you like. Yes my teens have always been agog at how new and expensive their peer’s phones are.

My older teens don’t care what phones their friends have. Don’t think they even know. Eldest daughter has an old Samsung and now she’s working she still can’t be bothered to upgrade it.

And our teens don't care because a phone to them is just a tool.

Loving the expectation of us all being supposed to believe children and teens don’t own expensive tech. A quick internet search will you 88% of teens own an Iphone and parents feel obligated to buy the latest tech.

I have a teen and I assure you they have no idea who has what phone, they don't care either. She has an old Samsung of DHs. They aren't allowed phones at school and have to hand them in each morning so it isn't a thing. Maybe you don't know all teens?

It's extremely interesting that these type of hobbies/ leisure activities are described as dull.
They are activities that require skill , patience and the reward is not immediate but really satisfying when it comes.
Contrast this to the instant gratification of Insta/ online shopping/ gaming

All studies show that the dopamine hit of the these instant rewards fades quickly, leading to a more, more, more set up.
Yep they have you hooked, buying more and more crap you don't need until with your MH falling apart, your house cluttered, your kids miserable, you ask yourself how the hell did I get here and why am I not happy ?

Hobbies like sewing, knitting and gardening are making a massive comeback, never been away as far as Im concerned !

My teen doesn't. She has never had an iphone/iPad and will never unless she can afford to buy one herself. Some parents may get caught up in buying the latest gadgets, others don't.

AI generated data based on a survey of US teens.
AI generated indicated it was 69% for UK teens.
And owning an iPhone and owning the latest model and two very different positions.

We are joining in, our teen's next phones, they have had their current ones for years, are going to be iPhones. But not new ones.

How am I making excuses. I simply said that certain items aren't luxuries but essentials. Even paying for monthly mobile/internet can be difficult for some when they barely have anything left over after paying rent and utilities and food. But it's an essential not a luxury. Where did I condone spending £££££ on the latest phone every 6 months?
And I'm refering to the original post that seems to imply everyone should be delighted as long as they have food and a roof over their head. I mean someone working hard all week and then expecting to GO OUT and have some fun at the weekend. And have a holiday once a year!! Shocking!! No. We must all stay indoors and play board games and enjoy arts and crafts with old plastic bottles and toilet rolls

I also love a nice walk which is free. But it's not free for me to travel to an area where walking would be enjoyable. Would that constitute a frivolous day out that I don't really need?

And I don't know why people are banging on about luxurious foreign holidays.
It's always cheaper for me to spend a week abroad than it is stay in the UK. Apart from camping