B2 – Upper Intermediate
If you’ve owned antique or vintage furniture or appliances, there’s a good chance you’ve noticed how durable these old items are. And when compared to modern devices, the difference is night and day—newer technology breaks and bends as easily as paper, while older stuff sometimes feels as durable as tanks. But how can it be possible for newer items to be worse than older ones? Shouldn’t newer technology create better and more durable items? But in reality, most of the appliances, furniture, and tools being sold to us now are specifically designed to be weak and frail.
To find out more about planned obsolescence, watch the video below.
Vocabulary Questions:
- What is a “fringe idea”? “Now, this might sound like a wild, fringe idea, but people were clearly afraid of being put out of work by technological progress and products that were too good.” Use this term in a sentence. Give a similar expression.
- What does “overnight sensation” mean? “In the 1940s, the synthetic nylon replaced silk in stockings and it was so durable that the products became an overnight sensation.” Use this expression in a sentence. Give a similar expression.
- What does “to get one’s hands on something” mean? “There were riots when women tried to get their hands on the synthetic nylon stockings.” Use this idiom in a sentence. Give a similar expression.
Discussion Questions:
- Why have companies made their products intentionally worse even though technology has improved?
- Discuss the pros and cons of planned obsolescence.
- What is your opinion about dynamic obsolescence?
- Have you noticed examples of planned and dynamic obsolescence on some products around you before? If so, give details on what you’ve noticed.
- Share your thoughts on this statement, “The only type of obsolescence we should support is technological.“