Technology

"Dude, I just got the 12th generation Nano!" "Oh yeah? Well check out my new 1,000 inch plasma television!"

Americans like their electronics. We've got iPods and laptops, Kindles, Nooks and Wiis. Let's not even start on Americans and their cell phones. It seems like Apple releases a new invention every day, and everybody and their mother rushes out to buy four of it. Why are we so obsessed with having the newest, the fastest, the smallest or the biggest?

Really, it's like running a race that can never be won. For instance, the last time I got a new cell phone, I thought it was so cool. It was a newer version of a phone that was already sweet to begin with, and it was cute as well as functional. I looked so good with my new phone... for about a month. Then, one of my friend's plans went up, and she got a new phone. Hers was way cooler than mine! How could a month have made that much difference?

The same thing happened to me with my laptop. My brother works in IT, so he knows his stuff when it comes to computers. He picked out an awesome laptop for me, and assured me that it was the fastest, the lightest, the sleekest and had the most capabilities. I've barely had it two years, but compared to the laptops of all of this year's freshmen, mine looks like a clunky invention from the Stone Age.

Americans never seem to be happy unless they've got whatever's newest. It doesn't matter if what we already have works perfectly well- there's something else that will be better.  Or, it may work great, but then there's something that looks cuter, and hey, we're all about the cute factor.

Really, the way we love new toys is a sign of our rampant consumerism. We will always spend money on the new thing, just because it's new. And if it's nice to look at, we'll easily be suckered in- materialism at its best. It's almost sickening; buying the newest thing is like a bad habit we can't kick. But what's the big draw behind always trying to beat out your friends, family and coworkers to have whatever was just put on the market?

We should really just learn to be happy with what we have. It's way easier said than done, but maybe we would all be a little happier if we stopped worrying about beating everyone else to the latest and greatest toy. After all, this isn't Jingle All the Way, is it?