One of the most interesting
concepts found in Blaszczyk’s American
Consumer Society has to be the idea of consumers placing their values on “software”
rather than “hardware”. Blaszczyk states that, “The potential quality of the
entertainment is what motivates someone to buy one set of boxes instead of
another” (274). Blaszczyk means to show that the American consumer no longer
places value on an object itself, but on what the object can do for them, and
what experiences it can expose them to. No better object can demonstrate this
idea than the recently announced iPhone 4S. As everyone knows, the iPhone, like
other smartphones, is not just a phone, but a multimedia device that fits in
the palm of your hands. This new iPhone differs from the rest however in that
it has a new feature called Siri. Siri is basically a “personal assistant”, as
this video demonstrates, that is capable of deciphering voice commands and
supplying you with knowledge based off of these commands. As the video shows,
Siri can supply you with traffic information, converting measurements, weather
information, appointments, and even reads your text messages to you, which you
can reply to simply by speaking your reply. With this product, Apple is not
simply selling an object, it is selling an experience. Siri allows the user to
experience something completely new, something that is only seen in the movies,
and that is what is most interesting. The phone is simply a placeholder for the
actual technology. As can be seen from the video, the users aren’t even holding
or touching the phone most of the time. Instead, the phone sits idly by while
the user commands it to give out information, text family members and friends,
and arrange meetings. This sort of experience is what Apple is selling, which
is also evident seeing as how the phone has the same design as the previous
version. This goes to show that the product is not what is being sold, but
rather the new experiences the new phone can expose you to. With these types of
innovations being presented, who can imagine what type of technology will be
available to us in ten or even five years? Will a material object even be
needed for us to connect to the internet or speak to our friends and family across
the country? As Blaszczyk states, “In this post-Boomer world, ‘things’ merely
facilitate the creation of ‘experiences’” (274). I believe that with inventions
such as Siri, it is only a matter of time before physical objects won’t even be
needed in order to experience things such as finding out what the weather will
be tomorrow, connecting with others over the internet, or making a phone call
to your parents. Innovators will continue to push the boundaries of technology
and with a consumer society such as ours, where these experiences are becoming
more valued than the material product itself, these new innovations are not
that far away. Siri is a step forward in technological advances and helps
demonstrate the “software” rather than “hardware” argument and also allows us
to imagine what will be the next major change. Where will we place our values
on next?
Javier Morillo Sect. 01
I agree that Americans do place high values on software. Nevertheless, I feel it is a natural tendency of people to care about the exterior and hardware of the object as well.
ReplyDeleteYear after year, ideas on new technology is presented to the public and are rewarded with high demand. After a while, other technological companies release their own version of the device with similar software and a more appealing hardware. Also, these companies sell the items for lower prices.
I feel that in the future and even today, Americans will still value their software, but will still care for their hardware as well. Also, Americans will value cheaper goods due to the recession, driving American consumers to look for good deals and lower prices.
It seems to me that these ideas about the coming changes in our consumption habits are suspect. The shifts from hardware to software are being reported by many business personalities. I think that many of these reports are placing too much emphasis on insignificant examples that are valiant, but ineffectual. I do appreciate certain commentators’ points about community development. It seems to me that technology, whether hardware or software, has minimized and de-humanized society. A more meaningful shift, in the words of Michael Rockland, “is to balance the needs of the individual and the needs community.” I think that we should be mindful of the consumption machine’s ability to make us think we need the newest thing or “experience”. This culture of consumption has helped tip the scales toward the individual. Blaszczyk comments, “Television was becoming a highly personalized, highly individual pastime with an increasingly diminished social context. (258)” I feel this can be said for most of the modern electronic devices we use. These appliances offer a second rate interaction that is heavily focused on the one self. In my opinion no gadget can replace an actual group dynamic.
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