Jeremy Cannon

Cas 283, Sect. 004

Obsolete Technology

            In last week’s lab we talked about the topic of obsolete technology. I found this to be quite an interesting subject because until then I had not really thought about all the forms of technology that had been virtually phased out of utility or consolidated together with other forms of technology. Obsolete technology is a bit self explanatory as to what it is; technology that has been rendered obsolete due to the rise of new and better things or people just realizing how useless it really is.

            We watched a few videos via YouTube that mentioned some of these obsolete technologies. The channel, named “Museum of Obsolete Objects” included such items as the classic fax machine, the computer mouse and the instant camera. I thought this was interesting, and funny, only because the channel only has about 4 videos up. I am sure there are many more technologies that have been rendered obsolete, but the makers want to stay quite relevant so the younger audiences won’t be alienated.

            Later into the lab we were asked to make a list of all the communication technologies we had owned in the past. The majority of the class agreed on phones, game systems and televisions as some of the technologies that were exchanged for newer and better ones most often, about every 1 to 3 years in fact. As I made my list of obsolete technologies it dawned on me that I really had not owned many technologies other than the ones the class agreed on.

I am just old enough to remember what it was like before the Internet. I could remember not being about to use the Internet if my mom was on the phone. I remember me getting my first cell phone and how excited I was, but also how even more excited I was to upgrade, leaving behind the only one in a shoebox somewhere. That opened up an entire new avenue of communication for me. I was now able to talk to people whenever and wherever I was. No longer chained to the home phone that I was only allowed to use until 10pm. The whole exercise was like a rush of nostalgia from my childhood and teenage years.

            Talking about all that old technology brought us to the topic of electronic waste, or e-waste for short. I had not even thought about what happens to that old cell phone I’m no longer using, or that game console that I threw away because of my failed attempt to take it apart and put it back together. The majority of the world’s obsolete technologies are just thrown away, shipped and dumped out of the view of the people that carelessly disposed of them. When asked to look up “e-waste china” I was appalled by the sight of mounds of circuit boards, keyboards, wires and toxic materials being dumped in these electronic land fills. My first initial thought was “why can’t we make an industry out of recycling this stuff just like any other materials (paper, plastic, metal, etc.),” but then I realized that most of the manufacturers for these polluting products aren’t interested in making their products “eco friendly” but more just getting the next yearly iteration of their product to the naïve consumers.

            E-waste is a serious and growing issue. It’s something that may not be affecting you or me right now, but is endangering the lives of thousands elsewhere. It’s only a matter of time until this issue can’t be shipped to someone else’s shores. The problem of e-waste really sparked my interests and I plan to do more research on the matter to find out what I can do to help alleviate the tons of waste that are dumped in areas like China. Both producers and consumers need to be held accountable for these products and the potential hazard they can cause if not properly disposed of. Who knows, maybe one day some will invent a technology to dispose of obsolete technologies.