Planned obsolescence. It’s an idea I’ve touched upon in a few of my columns in the past. It is, or was, an approach that called for product designs that artificially reduced the life cycle of the products—whether it be in form, function or fashionability—in an attempt to increase sales, or “shorten the replacement cycle.”
Planned obsolescence took hold, and some would say almost killed, the American car industry in the 1970s. Consumers started demanding greater longevity from the products they used. But the essence of planned obsolescence was replaced by rapid technology improvement. Products, like software and smartphones, no longer become obsolete, but rather become something newer, better and almost completely different (think horse and buggy to automobile). They update themselves with great regularity.