Tech brands are pretty great at persuasion. There’s a reason why they innovate and structure every element of our life, from how our banking apps have been designed to how we increasingly get our news and communicate with people not in our proximity.
Moreover, their marketing teams know exactly how to make us feel like we're missing out if we don't upgrade to the latest device, subscribe to their newest service, or add another gadget to our growing collection. The psychological tricks they use are somewhat fascinating in a slightly disturbing way – from creating artificial scarcity with limited releases to making older devices feel outdated through update changes and planned obsolescence. Think of how Apple only added a USB-C slot to their handheld devices because the EU forced them to.
But another interpretation could be interesting here – most of us don't actually need half the features we're paying for. The truth is, tech companies have perfected the art of making minor improvements seem like they’re the next best thing when they’re really not.
But how do you avoid that FOMO and sense you do need to keep up and pay for every little thing? There’s no reason they should be able to take advantage of you. Consider the following:
Understanding Product Cycles
The hard truth is that most tech companies follow predictable release schedules for their products for a reason, and it’s almost been machine-tooled to get you hyped after enough time way. New phones appear at the same time each year for the most part, and like that software updates roll out in patterns. But knowing these cycles helps you make smarter choices about when to buy. For example, you’ll often find that buying refurbished phones is more than good enough and also waiting about five years before upgrades can help you feel the feature difference. You’ll have saved cash by knowing product cycles don’t have to dictate your consumer behaviors.
Reading Between The Marketing Lines
Tech marketing loves buzzwords, but many of them are just fancy ways of describing basic features. “AI-powered” might just mean basic automation with a few features like removing the background of a photo, and perhaps a larger screen could be cool, but how does that balance with battery life? Looking past the marketing speak and inspecting specifications to understand what you're actually getting helps avoid paying premium prices a normal phones. Many review sites now specifically call out which new features actually make a difference in daily use, so be sure to read those and don’t just buy something immediately.
Protecting Your Data Privacy
Modern tech companies love to frame data collection as something that ‘improves your experience,' but that's only part of the story of course. Sure ads “might be more relevant,” but that means knowing what you want and using your data to assess that. Most companies gather far more information than they need, and they're not always upfront about how they use it either. Taking a few minutes to check your privacy settings can help you at least signal lesser tracking consent. Many devices and apps come with data sharing enabled by default, assuming you'll never bother to change it, but a quick look into your settings menu often shows dozens of toggles you can switch off without losing any features you actually use. Don’t be afraid to do that, nor reject all cookies on websites.
With this advice, we hope you can prevent tech brands from taking advantage.