The fact that technology is outpacing the needs of those in cultures that can afford the technology creates culture of excess consumerism.
Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the claim. In developing and supporting your position, be sure to address the most compelling reasons and/ or examples that could be used to challenge your position.
My response:

The topic raises the moot issue of whether the fast changing and upgrading technology is promoting excess consumerism by luring people into newer and better updates. Indisputably, technology is has made our lives easier and better in several ways. Nevertheless, fast changing technology is the cause for old ones becoming obsolete making people attracted towards the new ones. Thus, I would generally agree with the opinion that technology is actually promoting excess consumerism.

First of all, when we look at the current scenario, new upgrades in technology is coming every few months. I would like to point out that this is leading to a continuous pump and dump of any new upgraded device. To illustrate, let us look at the example of smart phones be it of Apple, Samsung, Sony, MI etc. In these devices, upgrades are really common and come every six months. In India, these devices used to support 3G once, now they support 4G and now they are projected to support 5G in coming future. This will lead to existing devices becoming obsolete. Consequently, it is pretty evident that technology is promoting pump and dump scenario to lure more people into buying new products in turn leading to excess consumerism.

Furthermore, to say that people need all these new technology at this great a rate won’t be completely true. Some activities should be left to humans also for better performance. Specifically, newly automated workout devices aren’t as good as the traditional old ones used in gyms across the world. Experts will even tell gym enthusiasts to use devices which promote compound exercises in which a person is required to use more of their energy. Automated workout devices like advanced treadmills aren’t as effective when it comes to natural running on field. Hence, all the evidence above demonstrates that we don’t need advanced technology to do all the quotidian things.

Admittedly, technology has improved our lives. One can easily order products of day to day needs very easily from Amazon at better prices than stores which charge much and are sometimes far from home. However, the above argument does not constitute sufficient claim to the conclusion that we are entirely dependent on technology to do everything. People cannot depend too much on machines entirely as it can cause the entire human race to become lazy. Moreover, store often provide better choices and opportunity to touch and validate a product by feel.

In conclusion, although technology is a boon to mankind, it is promoting excess consumerism.