The high consumption of smartphones – a technical must or just a shopping addiction?

What are the reasons for our rapid smartphone consumption and the impacts of this behavior on us and our environment?

An entry by Arihanta Jain, Maike Bongartz and Angelo Stockinger

Tuesday, May 25, 2021

There is nothing we use more or spend our time on than smartphones. Many people spend even more time with their smartphones than with their partners. But why have smartphones become such an integral part of our lives?

In this blog entry, we will take a closer look at the special relationship between people and smartphones. We will discuss the reasons why it has become such an important part in our day-to-day life. Furthermore, we will also look into the marketing psychology side and show the enormous influence smartphones have on our lives. In addition, we also want to draw attention to the effects of unsustainable mobile phone usage.

Sustainable thinking starts with small steps, and if each of us takes just one small step, it can have a big impact.

From utility object to fashion accessory

To better understand the power of smartphones, it is worth taking a look at the past. To the point where mobile phones were only seen as technical devices. Yes, we are talking about the times of button phones. That’s where it all began.

During that time, the mobile phone was mainly used for making calls and for this purpose it was well-used. However, this changed rapidly with the introduction of smartphones. In August 1996, the Finnish mobile phone manufacturer Nokia brought the first smartphone into the shops, the „Nokia 9000 Communicator“. It was touted as a pocket-sized office. Just to show you, at this point the smartphone weighs almost half a kilo. From that point on, the smartphone continued to evolve. And with it, the significance of the smartphone also changed. Nokia recognised this change and made the mobile phones available in different colours and designs. In this way, the smartphone evolved from a technical device into a fashion accessory and a cultural signal. With the change in importance and the steady progress in development, the consumption of smartphones also increased.

Negative impacts of unsustainable smartphone usage

Nowadays, smartphones in Germany are replaced by new devices every 2.5 years. As you might have imagined, this consumption comes with its consequences and is leading to a major problem with electrical waste worldwide. In the year 2020, 53.6 million tonnes of e-waste were generated worldwide. Germany is also one of the four countries worldwide with the highest e-waste per person as German citizens produce around 19.4 kg of waste per person.

Among other things, this development is due to incorrect disposal and insufficient recycling. On the one hand, over 50% of German citizens own more than three old smartphones at home, which they either do not dispose of at all or dispose incorrectly. On the other hand, large parts of the e-waste produced are shipped to other countries, mostly to developing countries, which then have to take care of the waste. Usually this often ends up in the sea and causes long-term marine pollution with its harmful chemicals.

Another impact is the high carbon emissions around the usage of smartphones, which escalates the greenhouse effect. Within an average useful life of 2.5 years, a total of almost 210 kg of carbon emissions are generated, from which 85% are produced during the manufacture of these devices. Moreover, mining of rare materials like gold, silver, palladium, cobalt, etc., used in the production also results in high energy consumption and the destruction of animal and human habitats.

Among these factors, there are also some social impacts on human life, like inhumane working conditions. Many mine workers often have neither sufficient protective equipment nor appropriate tools for material extraction. Consequently, they usually have to start work without helmets or protective gloves and sometimes even dig with bare hands. Furthermore, the mining process often produces fine dust, which can trigger chronic diseases, if inhaled in large quantities. We should not forget about other factors like low wages and child labor in this regard. All in all, it can be said that nature pays a high price for our smartphone and technology consumption. But why do we change our smartphones so often, especially after a relatively short period of usage ? Is this really due to the rapid technological progress with enormous improvements happening within a few months or years?

Why are we switching our phones that often?

In order to be able to assess whether a smartphone improves immensely within a short period of time, from one generation to the next, that there is an actual need to purchase a new device, it is worth taking a look at two successive smartphones, such as the iPhone 11 Pro and 12 Pro. Both devices were released about a year apart and have several similarities except for a few main changes. For example, price, looks, storage, weight and battery life were almost identical. The only noticeable major fundamental change was the slightly better performance and implementation of 5G. In summary, this smartphone variant has not changed so much that a switch would be necessary. Nevertheless, very high sales figures were again recorded for the iPhone 12 Pro.

These figures are based on certain technological improvements to a small extent, but also advertising and the psychological influence to a major extent. Considering the psychological effect it also depends on the characteristics of the person which are divided into four parts.

1. People who seek quality- Some people have curiosity for new things,and they have sufficient money to buy and swap phones as well. Usually, in this type of categorization, quality matters the most for people which could also be related to work related needs.
2. Tech lovers- In many cases, people are obsessed with the latest technology. Tech lovers like collecting gadgets, tinkering with them, and putting them back together and sometimes upgrading the phones and making better versions of them.
3. Novelty seekers- Some people are shopaholics. They satisfy their novelty by buying new phones. Overall they know about this problem of shopping but aren’t willing to change their behaviour.
4. Status seekers- Sometimes people buy phones to sustain an image in the society. They see that using high-end brands as a prestigious status symbol or fashion accessory. Overall, those people buy phones for an ownership persona.

These are not the only reasons affecting people wanting to switch to new phones. Sometimes tactful marketing strategies of companies also play a big role in persuading the thoughts of a person. Let’s see how:

Brands try to carry some sets of characteristics that attract specific types of customers. Much like humans, companies and brands also develop their own personalities over time. These personalities are framed by factors inside and outside a company – from the CEO and the employees, to product promoter and advertising strategies. For companies like Apple, innovation and brand personality was long driven by former CEO Steve Jobs, who personifies qualities like perfectionism, creativity, and ingenuity. The greater the similarity between the characteristics that describe an individual and the characteristics that describe a brand, the greater are the chances of an individual’s preference for that brand. For example, Apple iPhone commercials tend to emphasize sophistication, competence, and sincerity. This explains why some customers develop such strong feelings toward a particular brand of cell phone.

These commercials also bring curiosity among consumers to have the latest phone which sometimes embarrasses or makes them feel low for not using the latest phone. This social novelty pressure could lead towards social anxiety and depression among people.

As you can see, buying new phones is not only related to technical improvements but also to several other factors like the psychological effects and marketing strategies by the companies. These factors also have a huge impact on our environment, and therefore, we should care more about sustainability and a conscious consumption of smartphones, and be sensitized in this regard.
For more details and sources, take a look at our Presentation.

Image source: ready made / pexels.com