📘 Part 3: Old things vs new things

This episode's vocabulary

Tangible (adj.) - real and not imaginary; able to be shown, touched, or experienced.

Roots (plural noun) - family origins, or the particular place you come from and the experiences you have had living there.

Be tempted - to want something or to want to do something.

Efficient (adj.) - working or operating quickly and effectively in an organized way.

Durable (adj.) - able to continue to exist for a long time.

Novelty (noun) - the quality of being new and unusual.

Accompanying (adj.) - appearing or going with someone or something else.

Cumbersome (adj.) - awkward because of being large, heavy, or not effective.

To replace (verb) - to take the place of something, or to put something or someone in the place of something or someone else.

On-trend (adj.) - very fashionable.

Billboard (noun) - a very large board on which advertisements are shown, especially at the side of a road.

Personalization (noun) - the process of making something suitable for the needs of a particular person.

To moralize (verb) - to express judgments about what is morally right and wrong.

Keychain (noun) - a brand name for a system developed by the Apple company that allows users to store passwords, credit card numbers, and other important information safely on their computer, phone, etc.

Impulse buying (noun) - the act of buying something that you had not planned to buy, because you suddenly want it when you see it.

Psyche (noun) - the mind, or the deepest thoughts, feelings, or beliefs of a person or group.

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Questions and Answers

M: Rory, tell us, is keeping old things in a family a good way to connect with the past?

R: Well, it can be. Though I doubt it's the only way in the age of photographs and social media. People can share memories between generations and across families. I read somewhere recently that a couple had an AI of their son who passed away created. So, having something tangible can be a good way to connect with your roots, I suppose.

M: Which are better, old things or new things?

R: Well, I can appreciate why so many people might be tempted to see newer products are better, because they always seem so up to date and faster, or more efficient and effective. However, older items can be more durable. I mean, if you look at the old Nokia phones, they could really take a beating before they fell apart. They're also simpler and fewer things could go wrong with them. And I think you could say the same thing about older things now.

M: Why are children attracted to new things such as electronics?

R: Well, there's an endless amount of novelty that computers, phones and their accompanying software offer, isn't there? Unlike a book, you don't really need to go out and buy a new one. If you have a tablet you can upload a new digital one in seconds or a new ebook in seconds. Similarly, you can download the latest game instantly and play with it. It's difficult for something old and relatively more cumbersome to compete with the novelty that sort of setup offers.

M: Why do some grownups hate to throw out old items such as clothes?

R: Well, there's a connection to the past there, sort of sentimental value. I still have some clothes from when I was at school, which I will never wear again. And I think my mum still has my first milk tooth that I lost when I was a child. So in the days before fast fashion, many of these things would never be so easily replaced too. And will never be seen again. So in order not to lose that memory, people keep physical reminder of it. It seems a little silly, of course, because everything falls apart eventually. But there is something good in trying to make them last as long as possible, as if that makes the memory more alive somehow.

M: What makes people buy new things?

R: Well, the old ones fall apart, probably. So they must be replaced. Similarly, if we speak about clothes and other things that change with age, they might no longer be suitable or even the right size or fit with the latest trends and fashion. Speaking of fashion that tends to move on too. And people might want to stay on-trend.

M: How do shops attract customers?

R: Well, in a word, advertising, I suppose. They have all those billboards and posters and sales, telemarketing, and emails. Some of them even call customers, like I said with telemarketing, or at least they used to. But I don't know if it's so common now, because people find it annoying.

M: And how do you think shops will attract customers in the future? Will they change their ways?

R: Well, probably the advertising will become even more targeted and personalized, just based on the information that's, well, mined online. I don't know, it might be more useful as well. I don't know. Does anyone actually use any of these adverts that appear based on their data? I certainly don't, I just find it really quite freaky.

M: How has the way of shopping changed over the years?

R: Well, compared to when? I think the most obvious change is the shift to online shopping. But that's been happening for years, a more recent change might be the increasing personalization and moralization of shopping choices. You can, I don't know, pick the color of your environmentally friendly, ethically sorted smartphone, for example.

M: And do you think that people these days have things that they don't need?

R: Yes, there's all sorts of tat that people have. And I don't think it's necessary. Off the top of my head keychains. Why do you need a keychain? I don't understand.

M: And will it be worse in the future?

R: Oh, I hope not. I think people are more aware of like mindless, like buying mindless garbage and like impulse buying and impulse purchases, I suppose. And the negative effects that has on your psyche, on your psyche and on the environment. So I hope it will occur less often.

M: Thank you Rory for your insightful answers!

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