Remember the old days, before smartphones were a thing and Nokia reigned supreme? Sure, the cellphones of the early milennium were thick slabs with little more function than to call people and play the odd game of Snake. But they had a battery life that lasted forever and were also extremely resilient – such that there was no real need to replace them until they stopped working. Take a look at your phone now. Chances are that it’s a smartphone, and it’s relatively new. Think about how many people, like you, have a smartphone. (hint: it’s a huge number). Now think about the likes of corporate giants Apple and Samsung: how they introduce new models every few years (with only minor changes in hardware) and how many people throw away their perfectly working phones just for the privilege of owning the latest and greatest. In fact, average consumers use a phone for only 18 months - well below their average lifespan.
Planned obsolescence – the intentional design of a product to become obsolete and/or unfashionable after a certain period of time - is one of the main weapons in the arsenal of large-scale electronics companies, who are locked in an unceasing arms race to have the “best” product out in the market. Often what constitutes “best” is arbitrary – a product of trends set by popular culture: functions which elevate personal status rather than contribute anything actually useful to ourselves or society. There’s a pretty steep price to these products, but even this doesn’t match the true, ecological cost. Cellphones are incredibly resource intensive to make. Raw materials are mined from the earth and transported to polluting factories, where they are then manufactured into the 500-1000 components that go into a single unit.
During their lifetimes, cellphones use copious amounts of energy and emit equally copious amounts of radiation. Once they’ve been discarded, they leach hazardous elements like lead, cadmium, and mercury, which can end up in soil and waterways, causing major health problems for wildlife and people alike.
Nowadays it’s almost impossible to live without a phone. While I give my own phone the shifty eyes as it sits next to me on charge, I won’t be getting rid of it any time soon. But it’s good to keep this information in your mind. Use your phones for longer. Replace them less often. And dispose of them responsibly.