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iPods are necessities

iPods are necessities

It’s a lot easier to accumulate money if you don’t think that cars, air conditioning, washer & dryers, dishwashers, microwaves, cell phones, computers (+ internet), TVs (+ cable), and iPods are necessities. Take a look at this survey from Pew Research Center:

Luxury or Necessity?

I can’t believe that ANYONE called an iPod a necessity, let alone 3% of the people surveyed. The only thing on that list that I might even THINK about considering a necessity is air conditioning in the house — and that’s only because I live in a place where it’s regularly over 100 degrees for 89 days of the year. But I know that it’s not, unless maybe I’m elderly or highly susceptible to heat exhaustion.

I don’t have car air conditioning, cable or satellite TV, a flat screen TV, or an iPod, but I do have many of the items on the list. They are choices that I’ve made, and if push came to shove I could do without them. I’m aware that they are choices, and that my working to have those things means that it will take me longer to reach some goals. It’s when those types of items slip into our unconscious as things that we can’t conceive of life without that they might become a problem.

An excerpt from How to Survive Without a Salary says,

For over a century North Americans have felt alternately amused and threatened by the spectacle of new immigrants arriving from poorer countries and — through working at the most poorly paid jobs — quickly amassing capital to buy houses, sponsor relatives and send their kids to college. They seem to succeed so much faster than the natives. In our conceit we too often attribute such success to the superiority of this society. It may, however, have more to do with needs. The immigrant is consuming according to needs established in the old country.”

I agree, and it’s food for thought.

View Comments (6)
  • It always amazes me what people list as needs–I don’t own a television, and people wonder how I survive without it. Well, I have a computer and internet–I’m a million steps ahead of my great-grandmother, who couldn’t afford a radio…

  • A problem with this survey is that “necessity” is not very well defined. You’re defining it as something that you could never do without (like air, water, food, etc.). I might define it as something that I would always make sure I have, as long as I can afford it (like a phone, a house, a car, etc.).

    I think its much more interesting to think of how likely you would be to give up the different items on the list. Only 64% of the people said that they “need” a TV set, but 98% of the people surveyed own one. If TVs are so “unnecessary”, why does everyone own at least one?

  • I agree that the difference between immigrant and native populations is generally one of expectation. But I think it’s ok to reap the rewards of living in a developed country to a certain extent. I could have saved a lot more money and bought a house sooner, but I couldn’t have done that and all the other things I’ve done. It’s all about making a choice.

  • Darling and I try not to live without a television. People keep giving them to us. Seriously. Someone even gave us one with DVD player when we told them that’s all we would use it for (we gave it back when we moved).

    I think “need,” in this case, could be defined as something one’s lifestyle, rather than life, depends on. Many people get very defensive, even angry, when I suggest they don’t “need” a car (or credit, a cell phone, etc). It seems to be human nature to define ourselves by what we own.
    Examples:
    “I am a mother who cares about her children’s safety, so I need an SUV.”
    “I listen to alternative music not available on the radio, therefore I need an IPOD.”
    “I am an environmentalist who puts Earth first, therefore I need a diva cup.”

  • I have all but a flatscreen TV on that list (I refuse to pay more than $300.- for a TV, are they insane?) However, I consider very few things a necessity. If I can go on vacation without access to a TV, Computer, dishwasher, or washer/dryer, I really won’t care.
    The fact that some of these weren’t asked in 1996, because they were not even available back then, makes me wonder why they should be considered a necessity. In fact, go back another 10 or 20 years, and more of these will drop off the list. And were people able to live, and be content? Of course.

  • It’s a lot easier to accumulate money if you don’t think that cars, air conditioning, washer & dryers, dishwashers, microwaves, cell phones, computers (+ internet), TVs (+ cable), and iPods are necessities.
    ————————————————–

    The only things on that list I have are a microwave (provided by my landlord; I don’t own it), a used 500MHz PC with 256K of RAM, and a dialup internet connection.

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