Stephanie Niemiroski
CAS 283 - Section 004
Obsolete Technology & Electronic Waste

Last week, three new concepts were brought to my attention: obsolete technology, the digital divide, and electronic waste, also known as e-waste. During the short 50 minutes of lab, my internal clock paused, and I was able to catch up with reality. We discussed the hot commodities of the late 90s/early 2000s, got nostalgic over our old MySpace pages and AIM profiles, and laughed at the idea of Hit Clips. As we blasted to the past, I looked down at my new Macbook Pro laptop computer and my iPhone 5S. Thinking of how technology has evolved over the past 20 years is mind-blowing to me. Things that I used so frequently as a child, such as the VCR, floppy disk, and palm pilot, are now just mere memories. I became interested in what else is now considered obsolete technology, other than what we viewed in class, so I went searching and came across a few websites. Dial-up modems, answering machines, public payphones, pagers, and even blind dates were just a handful of obsolete items that were brought to my attention. New communication technologies are constantly replacing many more traditional technologies at an exponential rate. The lifespans of technologies are decreasing exponentially. Think about how the way we've listened to music has evolved over the past decade. We rarely hear the words 'tapes', 'records', or 'CDs' anymore. At this moment in time, we are able to purchase music with the click of a button. And where will it go from here? 

With the growth of new technology comes an increase in the digital divide. As Rachael defined in class, the digital divide is the idea that certain people with certain financial capabilities will be able to keep up with the new technology, a privilege to advance themselves digitally. The other half of the divide are those who cannot afford the new technology. As those who can afford the new technology purchase these items as they become available over time, the digital divide will widen.

As we live and witness the technology boom, we now yearn for the "bigger and better." Every year we buy new and updated equipment to support our wishes and needs. However, as we're waiting in line to purchase our iPhone 6, we completely disregard the thought of where our old equipment ends up. To be honest, this thought has never crossed my mind. When this image was brought up on the projector, I was speechless. 



According to e-stewards.org, electronic equipment and gadgets are the fastest growing waste stream in many countries. All of these electronics become obsolete or unwanted, often within 1- 3 years of purchase, meaning the iPhone 6 I just bought will end up somewhere near this child in about that time, harming the environment she lives in. Little does everyone know, this global mountain of waste is expected to continue growing 8% per year, according to e-stewards.org. With the little amount of e-waste that is recycled, this epidemic is what we'll be facing during our generation.

http://io9.com/25-obsolete-technologies-that-future-generations-will-n-1526922030
http://www.techhive.com/article/169863/obsolete_tech.html
http://www.businessinsider.com/21-things-that-became-obsolete-this-decade-2009-12?op=1
http://www.e-stewards.org/the-e-waste-crisis/