Materialism and Consumerism. We Are Defined By The Technology We Buy.

Marketers are experts at using research to define their product niches and with each new product, especially technical ones, we as consumers become defined by the products we purchase. For example, depending on the mobile phone (cell) you purchase marketers will target their ads to entice you in purchasing one or more of their other products and services.

We as a society are becoming defined by the phone, computer or latest tech gadget we buy. In previous years it may have been the car you drove, or where you lived; these days marketers may know more about you just by the phone you purchase.

You Are What You Buy

Materialism and consumerism has been spurred on by the advent of newer, faster and better technical gadgets. It started with desktop personal computers for the office and then home; walkmans, the ‘brick style’ mobile phones with huge batteries, and all manner of personal tech gadgets all marketed to make our lives easier.

For some it seems to be impossible these days to live without a mobile; a satellite navigation system or a laptop computer, an ipad or ‘tablet’ style computer and even a digital or 3D TV. We as consumers devour the latest gadget that is introduced into the market.

Technology per se is not a bad thing as some gadgets have enhanced our lives, such as mobile phones and the Internet. These things have given us access to information faster and easier than ever before as well as keeping us in touch with family and friends the world over.

Branding of these gadgets has given marketers a difficult task in ensuring consumers buy their particular product. Is Apple better than Microsoft, do Nokia phones perform better than Samsung, is HTC a good alternative to Apple, do I need a laptop or a desktop computer? The questions are infinite as more and more gadgets enter the market. Also, more time researching which product will suit your budget is needed sometimes causing more indecision as budgets become stressed to fit in the right plan for your lifestyle.

It is the brands that are now defining market segments and consumers will buy their particular gadget almost more for its perceived status symbol rather than what they actually need it for.

Apple has been at the forefront of this type of marketing with their “i” series of products – iphone, ipad, ipod, itouch, etc. Blackberry is close behind in its style of marketing and is a leader in its market, the business sector. HTC android phones are also making their mark, as are their tablets which are taking on the ipad market.

Teenagers

Technology, especially mobile phones, has become the most important tool in a teenagers life. Ask any teen whether they own a mobile (cell) and the answer will be yes, an emphatic yes at that! A mobile to teens is a part of them, they cannot live without them and cannot fathom how anyone lived without one back in the dark ages before the 1990’s. Forgetting their mobile, albeit a rare occurrence, will induce anxiety as they feel completely cut off from their friends because they are not contactable and vice versa. This would be a teen’s nightmare.

(Stan Fletcher is in this category, have a read of his recent hub, http://hubpages.com/hub/Coming-Clean-About-My-Horrible-Addiction and you’ll see what I mean.)

Adults 25 - 40

As teens enter the workforce and spend their hard earned wages on more technology some will stay with the brand they originally purchased (or the one their parents bought for them more likely). Many however will make more informed decisions and purchase by brand preferring to 'fit in' with the crowd. This is where the strategic marketing of the large technology companies such as Apple, Blackberry and Microsoft can really take hold. Once a brand is purchased in this age group then it is more likely to be purchased again.

40 years plus

Many people are creatures of habit and once a tech product has been purchased in a particular brand they will upgrade to the same brand rather than go through a stressful learning curve with another product. Ease of use and functionality are the most important factors when it comes to technology and, in this age group, change becomes more difficult.

Is Technology Good For Us?

It seems that no matter what the budget, people will buy brands rather than what they actually need and the products become the status symbol which defines them.

Technology is here to stay and is becoming faster and faster with every new product launched. Are we losing the art of relaxation because of this? Technology doesn’t allow us to slow down and stimulates us mentally in every part of our lives. It doesn’t allow us to think deeply as we learn to just skim, rather than read, the mountains of information bombarding our lives.

How this affects our minds and ability to learn is yet to be determined but research is being conducted on the impact of technology constantly speeding up our lives and the long term effects on our brains.

Time to learn how to use the gadgets is another issue facing consumers when they are deciding which brand to purchase. Every new device means an investment of time to learn how to use it and make it useful for your needs.

This causes confusion as well, first technology is expensive and time consuming, but then it helps us to navigate our social lives and keep us informed immediately, all of which makes our lives fuller and more exciting.

Time to learn is one of the main reasons consumers stick to the first brand they purchase because they already know how it works, it will be just the newer features that need to be learned.

The brand marketers know that once their product is purchased they usually have that consumer for life and this is a big reason why they play on the status part of the marketing. If a person feels good having that product, and feels they are purchasing a "trendy" product, then they will stick with it.

The large technology companies seem to be bringing out new products at an alarming rate. Consumers have just gotten used to one type of phone when a newer, 'whizz bang' version comes out. Obviously this is a ploy by the large corporations for consumers to upgrade without having to think about it.

There is however, a growing culture of tech savvy consumers taking their time when it comes to purchasing the latest gadget, they are sometimes even tweaking their existing gadgets keeping them useful for longer. The mad rush to purchase the latest phone or computer gadget is beginning to slow down as consumers become more aware of what their technology needs are.

This may be a budget issue but they are also waiting until the newer gadgets have all their problems ironed out. With an average of 24 electronic gadgets per household in most developed countries, it’s not surprising that consumers are becoming harder to convince when it comes to purchasing newer gadgets.

Technology will evolve, and consumers' knowledge will also evolve and the rush to purchase will be replaced by consumers wanting familiarity of function over the latest product. As consumers become more and more tech savvy they will wait for the right product before they purchase and the marketers will have to work harder to entice their buyers. Ultimately status will play some part but the gadget must tick all the right boxes first, especially function and price.

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