May 3, 2011

I am a neophiliac... Are you?


I am a neophiliac. Are you?

Yep, I know, it sounds really dirty, and really wrong, doesn't it? Well, not so much wrong, once I googled what it means, just really damn expensive.

Neophilia is a new term to me. According to an article in The National Post, neophilia is a term used to describe the tendency to fall in love with what's new. Highly prevalent in the geeky technology Xbox/iPad world, it's rise is result of our ever-shortening attention spans and the rapid release of shiny new gadgets.

And yep I luuuuv me some shiny new gadgets!

The article says that while Neophilia has always been the case among music critics and fashion lovers, it is more common than even with new tech releases always coming out. Do you drool over new technology?

I upgraded to an iPhone 4 fast. Did I really need it more than the older model iPhone I already had? Uh, no. I lusted after an iPad, even though already have my own iPhone and laptop, and for work a Blackberry and another laptop. So yes I bought the iPad and I obsessively love it... and now I am feeling envy for the iPad 2 owners --- what features do they have that I don't?

My husband is a Blackberry fan and will get the new Playbook tablet (and uh it's no iPad, by the way).

Sure, I like my new car fine, but I really miss the stereo controls on the steering wheel from my old car. And the cool sunroof. How does the new car drive? What's the mileage efficiency or carbon footprint of it? Dunno. I miss my toys.

With the iPod, iPhone, iPad, iEverything, Apple feeds on the love of the shiny new toy. Their stuff is candy for us, Beanie Babies for adults. The cult of Apple has adult professionals camping out for tech toys like they were stoners outside a Grateful Dead concert.

So why this love of the new? Do new toys have magical powers? Are we that competitive, is this a compulsion about keeping up with the Joneses?

I don't know the science of why, I just know that... ooh, shiny new thing in sight, gotta go!

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