A few weeks ago, I was meeting a friend for lunch and arrived a bit early. The hostess seated me and I mindlessly whipped out my phone to kill time. Email, check. Work email, check. Anything good on The Real Real? My pupils dilate over a pair of Margiela loafers, transfixed by their graceful economy of design...
"Waiting for someone?" the waitress asked, filling my water glass.
"Yes," I said absently.
"Still rockin' the 4, huh?" she said, her tone arrid with condescension.
....
It took me a minute to realize she was talking about my phone.
Yes, I still have an iPhone 4. Shameful, I know. I really should be lanced from society like the festering, luddite boil that I am. Or so this waitress made me feel. I laughed it off, and it's certainly not the first time someone's made fun of me for my phone. It didn't bother me on a personal level, but it did make me feel kind of sad.
I won't go into the materialism of our society, the story of stuff, and the ruin it's wreaking on our planet. These arguments have been laid out thoroughly by wiser and more articulate advocates than me. But I will say something to that waitress: what exactly is your problem with my phone?
I'm proud of my phone. I've gotten a ton of use out of it, it still works perfectly, and I didn't pay much for it. I even fixed the splitting power cord wire coating with this handy tutorial from iFixit. Basically, I'd rather spend my money on other things, to say nothing of the fact that I don't really CARE what my phone looks like, as long as it works how I need it to. And yes, maybe this would mean more coming from someone who didn't lust over such expensive and unnecessary footwear - but at least those Margielas were second-hand, and therefore somewhat sustainable.
Yes, I'm still rockin' the 4, and proudly. Economy isn't just a great design aesthetic; it's a great way to live.
In closing, think about the gadgets you've bought over the course of your lifetime and ask yourself: have you been overserved?
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