I guess I should have left out the morbid comic relief from my rant. Naturally, no one will deem you a sociopath for not buying an iPad. On the other hand, there was a time when someone would ask me what my cell number was and I would say, "I don't own a cell phone." I wouldn't just receive dirty looks, I was honestly heckled. Same goes for Facebook - or my lack thereof. No one has deemed me a sociopath, but I'm certainly abnormal, an outsider, an "other" because I don't purchase cellular technology or partake in popular social networking.
Switching gears, if a product is useless, few rational people will buy it. The problem isn't the product however, or its price; the problem is the psychology used behind marketing useless products to mindless consumers. Hey - I'm guilty too! I've found myself purchasing a "Natural Bamboo Cutting Board" because it was a "renewable resource" and because its "aesthetics" were pleasing in my kitchen. Why didn't I just buy the cheaper plastic cutting board? Or better yet, why didn't I just make one myself? As I've said, the difference we're discussing is Value vs. Features.
Cars are built with DVD players and LCD monitors - useless to the purpose of a car. Telephones are built with touchscreens and games - useless to the purpose of a phone. Knife sets are built with fancy handles and color schemes - useless to the purpose of a knife.
Yet, these things are sought after - people trample one another at Wal-Mart on Black Friday to get their hands on them. Why would consumers spend money on an XBOX instead of durable clothing? Or a more dependable car? Or repairable shoes? Or solid kitchenware they can pass down to the next generation?
No, they'd rather have their super clear HD monitors in each room of the house, all purchased on credit, while they wallow in a malnourished state of sorry affairs. Someone sold them on that idea. If you're telling me that's not rampant, sickening Consumerism, than I think we're having a different discussion altogether.
Just a few thoughts...
You can be considered an "other" not only for not making consumer choices, but for political and religious views as well. That's just the way people are. But just as you are free to pick your religion or your politics you are free to pick what you buy.
For a bamboo cutting board vs plastic, for a few dollars difference I wouldn't sweat it. Also, the bamboo board does have one important feature. It won't hang around in a landfill for the tens of thousands of years that it takes for plastic to biodegrade. Perhaps that was part of the reason for purchasing bamboo. That is a feature (one that you can't even experience in your lifetime) and it has a value.
Touch screen phones: this whole category is transforming as we speak. The touch screen enables the phone to be used easily as an information device. Cell phones are rarely used for calls any more. It's all texting to communicate and mobile browsers for getting information when not near a computer.
Cars with DVD players: can you put a price on keeping the kids quiet in the back seat?
Black Friday: I don't take part in it because I am Canadian and this is an American phenomena. But from what I see on the news each year, the big event is fueled by the drive to get low prices. The same products were in the stores the day before, but there was much less interest in purchasing the day before at the regular price. Although it looks completely irrational on the face of it (e.g. people lining up over night) it actually shows how price is a big factor in purchasing decisions. It is rational to seek the lowest price you can get for a product. If a low price means more to a consumer than other factors, such as the overall hectic and busy shopping experience of that day, the consumer will be out shopping on Black Friday.