Heard about the new iPhone 8 yet? Why bother asking? Of course, you have, you probably have all its features memorized too. How else are you going to convince your parents to buy it for you? But ask yourself this, do you genuinely need it? Can you not do without it?

Nowadays, teenagers are so influenced by advertisements that they often forget to think correctly. The idea of having a fancy gadget, surpassing everyone else, clouds their judgment. When there's a new product in the market, there's always that urge to have it even though one might not need it. 

This is exactly what these companies want, when they launch a new product. The flashy, eye-catching advertisements accompanied by products with a low lifespan, this use of planned obsolesce ensures that consumers will keep investing in them. These tactics might help the companies but what are they doing for everyone around? Not only are they a strain on your wallet, they also harm the environment.

Natural resources are being consumed faster than they can be replenished for the manufacturing of these gadgets. Millions of dollars are spent daily on luxuries, overshadowing the need for necessities for the poor. Repeated replacement of products is increasing the level of waste generated.

So, next time you want to buy something, take a minute and think about it. You want to buy a new phone, but is your old phone still in working condition? When you throw it away, you’re adding to the waste. There will come a time when there’s no space on the planet for human garbage, when there are no more resources left to fuel our greed, or even our needs.  Millions of people die every day due to preventable causes, because they can't get fresh water or food or treatment for a simple disease. If you don't get this one gadget this one time, is it really going to kill you?