Are People Buying Technology For The Right Reasons?

    Technology is a beautiful thing, and I am not only talking about all of the new and improved technological features.

    In today's society more and more people are buying technology for the wrong reasons. People want what is going to look the best, not what is going to work the best. Technology is now selling a lifestyle. The two main pieces of technology in today's world are cellphones and computers. Both pieces have several different companies producing the same product. This sparks a lot of competition between all of the companies when it comes down to selling the product for a certain lifestyle, and selling it for advanced technological advantages.

    Richard Lanham created a thesis relating to this topic. He described how in today's society we want the technology that will best fit our life aesthetic, this is known as the economics of attention. Another aspect of the thesis describes how some sources that relate to technology are scarce, but the most abundant resource is information. This part ties into the debate about what brand of technology people should be buying because there is so much information about each company. People should be able to research the product that they hope to buy and get all of the information on it, whether that be good or bad.

    Cellphones have become a necessity in this world. Cell Phones started off as bricks and now they shatter with one hard fall. Today a person can get a cell phone that is made only for calling, or they can get a phone that will talk back to them. The biggest powerhouse phones in the market right now are the Apple iPhone and the Samsung Galaxy. Personally, I have only ever used iPhones so I have a very biased opinion. The Samsung software is far more advanced than Apple, for example, multitasking while using the phone. Although, this might sound like a great thing, when it comes to the phone being user friendly it becomes a bad thing. The storage and pixels in the Samsung are ranked superiorly over Apple. When is comes to the overall look of the phone, which is the main deciding factor, the iPhone has always been the winner. Due to the fact that I have only ever had apple phones I had to do some research on Samsung phones and this video is great for comparing all of the features. One thing that I have noticed when it comes to selling a lifestyle, not necessarily a phone, is that females tend to buy iPhones, and males lean more towards the Samsung. With that being said, I still think that more people buy Apple phones over Samsung phones. This statement could very easily have no meaning what so ever, but I think that it is just another adding factor that proves society buys more for a certain lifestyle that anything else.

  Computers are another piece of technology that you can not live without in today's world. When it comes to computer company competitors it all depends on whether or not you want Windows or Mac software, in many ways this competition is just like cellphones. The Windows software is said to be more personal than the OS X (Apple) software, which to some may be a major plus. This may also lead to Windows computers being more user friendly, but Apple computers are made for a more simplistic user. With the Windows software the user can code their computer to fit their personal needs. On an Apple computer this task is very daunting and often times not worth the hassle. For the longest time Apple computers have always been known for being unreceptive to viruses, but that is not always true. On the other hand, Windows software has always had a problem with viruses. I think the biggest difference would have to be the price range. You can get a brand new windows computer for as low as four hundred dollars, but the lowest you could get an Apple computer is close to one thousand dollars. When it comes to the over all look of the computers, Apple computers automatically have a sleeker look and people notice them. The simple Apple logo will persuade a consumer to purchase it to enhance their lifestyle, not so much their life.  

   

    All in all, when a consumer buys technology in today's society they are buying more for the lifestyle and status, proving Richard Lanham's thesis to be true.