But I Want It!!

I was talking to a friend last week about my newest iThing and all of a sudden she tells me she's going to get an iPad. I remember her saying a year ago that she'd love to have one but it was a VERY out of reach thing at that time. However she has a friend who is getting a new iPad and is going to sell her his old one at a "deeply discounted price". My immediate reaction to this news was to ask why she was buying it. Obviously a lot of us would love to have an iPad or some kind of tablet computer so I wasn't asking why she would want one in general, but why she felt the need to get one right now. She's currently unemployed and will most likely be moving out of her $1500 a month apartment soon because of her financial situation. It doesn't make sense to go blowing money on toys and things you don't need when you can't even afford food (and sometimes she can't). Her response to my question was, "because I want one". Oh. Well then.
Maybe it's because I'm an old man now but I don't understand this culture of needing to have the newest and best stuff immediately. Technology advances so quickly anyway, and I guess that's why some people have to be on top of it. But is it really going to kill you to not have an iPhone 5 for the year and a half that it's popular? Are you going to be thinking, "oh man, I wish I'd had that iPad 3, but I didn't and it will forever haunt me" on your deathbed? I highly doubt it. At the end of the day, it's just stuff. I love my iPhone but if all Apple products were eradicated from the earth, I would be able to survive. We all got on fine before Apple ruled the world, we would learn to live without it if we could. Growing up poor teaches you do many things you're thankful for later on in life. We never had a ton of new stuff, especially technology-wise, but we didn't really miss it. You can't miss what you don't have. We didn't really start getting on the technology bandwagon (aside from Nintendo) until mom got a job at a pawn shop. We got our first computer, DVD player, mp3 player and countless other things from that store. But it was never because we needed to have any of it, we got that stuff after saving up and being able to afford it. Now people go thousands of dollars into debt for things they don't need, they just want them because everyone else has them. Like everyone else, I thought iPods were amazing when they were first introduced but they were like $250 so I knew I wouldn't be getting one. I still use the first one I ever did get and it was a gift bought for less than that steep price tag. I think I paid very little attention to the iPhone's introduction and even less to the iPad's. I knew it didn't affect me since I wouldn't be shelling out three or four hundred dollars for either one. Even when I did start researching getting a smartphone, I want even looking at iPhones because they were still $150 and up and that's way too much for a cell phone, smart or not. I ended up with one because it was within my budget and I wouldn't have purchased it otherwise. I'm not one to go out of my way for the latest, greatest thing. If it's relevant to me and I can afford it, I'll buy it. In her situation, I would be turning my attention towards finding a place to live instead of buying toys I don't need.