Economics

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Americans are holding onto devices longer than ever and it’s costing the economy (www.cnbc.com)

submitted 5 days ago by MicroWave@lemmy.world to c/economics@lemmy.world

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The average American now holds onto their smartphone for 29 months, according to a recent survey by Reviews.org, and that cycle is getting longer. The average was around 22 months in 2016.

While squeezing as much life out of your device as possible may save money in the short run, especially amid widespread fears about the strength of the consumer and job market, it might cost the economy in the long run, especially when device hoarding occurs at the level of corporations.

Research released by the Federal Reserve last month concludes that each additional year companies delay upgrading equipment results in a productivity decline of about one-third of a percent, with investment patterns accounting for approximately 55% of productivity gaps between advanced economies. The good news: businesses in the U.S. are generally quicker to reinvest in replacing aging equipment. The Federal Reserve report shows that if European productivity had matched U.S. investment patterns starting in 2000, the productivity gap between the U.S and European economic heavyweights would have been reduced by 29 percent for the U.K., 35 percent for France, and 101% for Germany.

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[–] CriticalMiss@lemmy.world 4 points 4 days ago

You look at the headlines of what’s new every year, realize it’s a nothingburger and say “meh maybe next year if there’s something interesting”. It’s been going for a few years for me, my last phone broke because I mishandled it, bought iPhone 13 and don’t see myself replacing for at least 2-3 years. I’ll replace the battery soon because it doesn’t hold a charge that well anymore but that’s about it really. Does everything else very good

[–] Jax@sh.itjust.works 4 points 4 days ago

Why does this smell like something that's a problem only because corporations have the same rights as people?

[–] dohpaz42@lemmy.world 4 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Im on an iPhone 12 Pro Max(2020). That must make me above average. Yay!

[–] altphoto@lemmy.today 1 points 4 days ago

I got one year older.

[–] Tollana1234567@lemmy.today 2 points 4 days ago

also because they are becoming walled gardens , converging into apple-esqe type situation.

[–] thatradomguy@lemmy.world 3 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Why tf make a new phone every year or 2 years then? Samsung has already made it so that there's no reasonable benefit to doing that besides maybe battery life and camera. Everything else is commodity or gimmick at best. You can't keep doing that anymore. Coming out with stupid flip phones is not going to solve this made up problem. Just fucking stop.

[–] Drusas@fedia.io 2 points 4 days ago

Having different form factors as an option is a nice change.

[–] blackfire@lemmy.world 1 points 4 days ago

Funny enough in uk the default contract length for most providers is now 3 years. You have to manualy choose a shorter contract length.

[–] NABDad@lemmy.world 2 points 4 days ago

29 months? I bought my current phone in July 2020! Previous was Feb 2014.

[–] Archangel1313@lemmy.ca 2 points 4 days ago

Well, then...just make shittier phones. Problem solved. Economy saved. It's a win for everyone, except consumers.

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