One such form is programmed obsolescence, where obsolescence is secretly programmed into the product. Planned obsolescence has taken many different forms since the 50’s. Consumers felt that, in many instances, they were being cheated, overpaying for the product without being informed of its shortened lifespan. They argued that companies are exploiting the consumer when artificially limiting a product’s lifespan to stimulate a synthetic increase in demand. In response to the editorial, many consumers wrote angry letters back. Engineers should strive to create shoddy products that fall apart quickly, in the interest of economics. Instead, engineers should embrace it, since “planned existence spans of products may well become one of the greatest economic boosts to the American economy”. Safford argued that engineers should not resist the implementation of planned obsolescence in products. In a late 1950’s Design News piece, editorialist E.S. Starting in the 1950’s, the practice of making deliberately inferior products became routine.
#FUNCTIONAL OBSOLESCENCE CODE#
Planned obsolescence breaches the consumers’ trust and tarnishes the reputation of engineers, creating situations that ultimately violate the engineering code of ethics. Electronics, however, are expensive, and having to shell out large amounts of cash each year leads to angry and frustrated consumers. There is no better way to get consumers to buy the new releases on the market than rendering old products obsolete. After all, planned obsolescence is one of the most effective methods to drive sales of new products. Companies may push engineers to design products with lifespans that are deliberately short in order to push future sales. This deliberate shortening of a product’s lifespan is known as planned obsolescence and is prevalent within the modern electronics industry. Among these annoyances, many users suspect that smartphone companies design their products to purposefully last only a short amount of time. Around this time, one may notice his or her phone becoming increasingly slower, its battery life waning as it starts losing functionality. Advertisements line the streets and play repeatedly on the air, promising a better and faster smartphone.
The violation of the engineering code of ethics through the use of planned obsolescence leads to frustrated consumers, tarnished reputations, and environmental damage.Įvery year there comes a time when the new line of smartphones is released.
Engineers in this industry should avoid implementing such tactics as it harms the environment and exploits the public, which directly violates the engineering code of ethics. Companies design their products to either malfunction prematurely or become difficult to maintain and use. Planned obsolescence is an often-used tactic in the electronics industry to push sales.
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