rwkvisual, Flickr
It seems like every day a brand new handheld electronic device comes out. Or a new car. Or a new piece of technology that swears it will simplify or improve your life. While these things are useful, fun and sometimes absolutely necessary to the way we live our lives, there’s a certain charm to having an old car, an outdated phone or an obsolete laptop. Here are some reasons why crappy possessions are better.
Photo credit: rwkvisual, Flickr
7 Accessories are Dirt Cheap
kiwanja, Flickr
A new Apple iPhone charger can cost quite a pretty penny, but if you need a charger for a non-smart phone? You can probably get it for $6 on Amazon and it will come with a car adapter, cradle and other accessories as well. Sure they’ll be flimsy and come straight from the third world, but they’ll also do the exact same thing.
Photo credit: kiwanja, Flickr
6 You Don’t Care If they Break
robertnelson, Flickr
So, you just dropped your Microsoft Zune mp3 player from forever ago…so what? You can either find another one for a ridiculously low price on eBay or finally make the jump to getting that iPod touch you probably should have invested in before the turn of the decade.
Photo credit: robertnelson, Flickr
5 You Don’t Care If They Get Stolen
Plutor, Flickr
I had a clunky ‘92 Camry that was so bashed up, worn in and had so much mileage that I dubbed it “FrankenCamry.” Also, it was literally falling apart, so much so, I would actually detach and throw parts of the car away that didn’t seem crucial whenever they came loose. Sounds awful, right? But in reality, the time a shopping cart accidentally crunched one of my tail lights (still worked) and all the times I had to park and leave my car in a bad part of town, it didn’t bother me. It was a piece of shit anyway, so why stress?
Photo credit: Plutor, Flickr
4 Your Life Isn’t Wrapped Up in Them
Joi, Flickr
It’s good to not constantly hear the siren song of uninterrupted Internet connectivity granted by portable Internet-connected devices. While some feel the need to glance at their phones every two minutes, others feel relaxed because they don’t even have the option to have their very souls tethered to the web. While some are frantically upset that their Yelp app doesn’t work and, “How will I choose a place to eat in the area without it?” others have figured it out, because they didn’t constantly rely on a machine to think for them.
Photo credit: Joi, Flickr
3 Anything You Get Will Be Worlds Better
Charles Williams, Flickr
No matter what you get, even if it’s the inexpensive, low-end version, it’ll still be an amazing step up from the incredibly obsolete piece of grandma-tech you have right now. While everyone is squabbling over how deep the blacks on their new TV are, you’re just happy your new one is HD.
Photo credit: Charles Williams, Flickr
2 You Don’t Have to Worry About Upkeep
functoruser, Flickr
Are scratches, dirt or stains bugging you? Not if you have a device that only does the bare bones of what you need it to. Because if it’s not modern, it’s definitely not a fashion statement…so who cares?
Photo credit: functoruser, Flickr
1 You Saved Yourself Some Money
borman818, Flickr
Your proud friend who bought a plasma TV back when it was new for $10,000 and then a new television every two years since then now has less money to send their kid to college. Today you’ve caught up and bought your big-screen HDTV and it barely cost you $800. Feels good. Priorities, people!
Photo credit: borman818, Flickr