I’ve been using the same mobile phone over three years now.
In modern-speak, it’s a crime.
Especially when people are switching to newer gadgets every fortnight.
I never thought of ‘upgrading’ myself to a new phone until recently when my device started ‘misbehaving’.
And as luck would have it, both Flipkart and Amazon were running their festival discount campaigns.
Lucky me.
Or so I thought.
I had never been so confused in my life with so many choices to pick from.
After an initial dopamine rush, I was pulled into a black hole of gadgets (I’m talking only about mobile phones here) ranging from different prices, looks, features, brands etc.
At one point, several brands began sounding like one.
Features didn’t make sense anymore.
The minis, the quad cams, the AI powered selfies (why humanity?), gaming, that, this – I felt like I was looking for a gem inside a huge garbage pile.
If it had been a few years back, I’d have closed my eyes and picked a BlackBerry.
But here I am wasting hours (when I was supposed to be working, mind you) on picking the next gadget that will bite the dust in another year or so.
So I went back to the basics. What I’ve always appreciated in my electronic devices.
I went with three qualifying factors – simple to use, functional (I don’t want to feel like I’m carrying a brick in my trouser pockets) and gets the jobs done.
I made a choice in the next two minutes. Another worry off my mind for the next one year at least.
Here’s a lesson for every one of us:
As copywriters, advertisers and marketers, people like me are going to come up with interesting stuff to always keep you buying stuff.
To always keep spending your money and valuing your self-worth on what model of what series of some crap brand you’re owning.
We’re like the devil persuading Eve to take a bite of the apple.
But don’t be Eve. Be you. Think for yourself before getting lost in the sea of mindless consumption.
And the next time before you decide to buy something ask yourself this question:
Did you really like it or was there a chance you saw an ad somewhere that made you like it?
The trick is to be not tricked by ads.
That paves a way for meaningful cycle of communication between marketing and consumers.
At the risk of getting more philosophical, I’m bidding you farewell from this post right now ;)
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