Lesson: Planned Obsolescence
Apple has come under fire in the past for slowing down older phones due to the degradation of phone batteries over time. Of course, Apple did not tell people that this was happening, so iPhone users thought a slower phone meant that they needed to purchase a new one. This was not the case, all they needed to do was have a new battery installed, but most did not realize this. Apple has denied building planned obsolescence into their phones. The life cycle of a digital device is very short. New devices are released every year, and companies push out software updates regularly. Planned obsolescence is suitable for company profits because it shortens the lifecycle of products and forces people to purchase new ones. However, how about we, the consumers, should we accept that our device will become obsolete? Should we assume that our devices have a planned (and shortened) life?
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Example Article
Each conversation topic is based on a theme. In order to help students acquire a basic understanding of that topic, four media articles are provided for them to read. I will never test you on the articles, but I strongly suggest you book lessons far enough in advance to give yourself enough time to properly prepare. The better prepared you are, the more benefit you will receive from our conversations.
Below is an example article for this conversation topic.