Planned obsolescence ISN'T REAL

Planned obsolescence is a strategy that involves designing products to become outdated or useless within a specific time frame, thereby ensuring that consumers will seek replacements in the future and bolstering demand. This can be achieved through introducing a superior replacement model or by intentionally designing a product to cease proper function within a specific window ¹. Consumers often react negatively to planned obsolescence, especially if new generations of products offer insufficient improvements over the prior versions. Brands can be tarnished by artificially stoking demand through this method, ultimately driving customers away ¹. While some consumers see planned obsolescence as a natural course of action, others are outraged at the lack of business ethics, environmental concerns, and disregard for consumer rights ³.

Source: Conversation with Bing, 9/30/2023

(1) What Is Planned Obsolescence? How Strategy Works and Example - Investopedia. https://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/planned_obsolescence.asp.

(2) Planned obsolescence and consumer protection - Maastricht University. https://www.maastrichtuniversity.nl/blog/2019/04/planned-obsolescence-and-consumer-protection.

(3) Ethics of Planned Obsolescence - Viterbi Conversations in Ethics. https://vce.usc.edu/volume-3-issue-1/ethics-of-planned-obsolescence/.

(4) Planned obsolescence - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planned_obsolescence.