Who Needs To Limit Free Speech When You Can Coerce People To Do It Themselves
UK ISP Not Convinced By Recording Industry's Unequivocal Evidence

Blame Your Parents For That iPod Lust

Overhype

from the addict-alert! dept

Tue, Jul 11th 2006 8:57am — Carlo Longino
Early adopters, fanboys and gadget freaks: it's not your fault. Apparently your need to have the latest and greatest shiny things is caused by your genes. Japanese researchers say that some people have a genetic predisposition towards neophilia, meaning they constantly need new things. What's perhaps most striking is how the article calls early adopters "victims", and says they have an "affliction" that's akin to "addiction disorders". Perhaps it's just an extension of labeling everybody an addict, but in any case, it shouldn't be too long before questionable treatments and cures for gadget lust -- since it's now an afflication, after all -- begin popping up. They'd better not use any electronics, though, so perhaps shock treatment's out.
Hide this

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team

31 Comments

If you liked this post, you may also be interested in...

Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread


  • identicon
    Cisco, 11 Jul 2006 @ 9:29am

    FIRST!!

    YIPEE!!

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    DittoBox, 11 Jul 2006 @ 9:31am

    neophilia

    I read that as "necrophilia" to start with. I play too many RPGs.

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      joe, 11 Jul 2006 @ 10:21am

      Re: neophilia

      thats... umm.. wrong. seriously, what kind of rpgs do you play? now i could understand if you meant necromancing. that is a popular RPG skill. either way, you are an RPG N00B!

      [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    evil, 11 Jul 2006 @ 9:54am

    "necrophilia" is characterized by a sexual attraction to corpses

    what the hell kind of rpgs do you play?

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      hahaha, 11 Jul 2006 @ 9:57am

      Re:

      He must be a fan of GTA, since that is the "end of times" game for society....

      [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    addict, 11 Jul 2006 @ 10:09am

    Treatments and cures?

    I don't want/need someone to treat or cure my addiction to the latest tech.... I just want someone to fund it.

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    A., 11 Jul 2006 @ 10:13am

    neophilia!=unchecked consumerism

    It's the reporter, not the scientist who translates a "significantly associated with higher scores of novelty-seeking" to "genetic predisposition to replace an existing gadget with the updated version". I don't see how the two are related, really.

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    anony mouse, 11 Jul 2006 @ 10:31am

    neophilia? bullshit, i call that materialistic and shallow.

    that describes most ipod owners

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Bender1012, 11 Jul 2006 @ 11:03am

      Re: anony mouse

      Materialistic, maybe. But shallow? Not necessarily. Just because you like having stuff doesn't mean you don't value friends and family more. And what about people that have a passion for music? Are you calling their dreams and ambitions "shallow"?

      [ link to this | view in chronology ]

      • identicon
        anony mouse, 11 Jul 2006 @ 1:18pm

        Re: Re: anony mouse

        Materialistic, maybe. But shallow? Not necessarily. Just because you like having stuff doesn't mean you don't value friends and family more. And what about people that have a passion for music? Are you calling their dreams and ambitions "shallow"?

        Just my anecdotal experience, but there is no one I know that I consider intelligent, thoughtful, and caring that walks around with an iPod on in a home full of the latest gadgets rambling on incessantly about how he/she is going to buy this or that as soon as its available.

        I have a passion for music. It is expressed with a six-string guitar. Not with a basement full of crap that was just recommended to me as the hot new thing by the idiot salesperson at the local Guitar Center.

        [ link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 11 Jul 2006 @ 6:22pm

      Re:

      Well spocken... I can easaly say this because I just turned 14 and just got my first cell phone I have never owned an ipod in my life hopefully that will change befor the end of this year... but then again that is what I said last year.

      [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    phil, 11 Jul 2006 @ 10:32am

    I'm the VICTIM here!

    So... How long before I can sue apple, à la "Big Tobacco" for fostering my dependency?

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    sickboy76, 11 Jul 2006 @ 10:41am

    neophilia

    he means neophilia... it is an actual word. it has nothing to do with rpg's in any way. check -http://www.tiscali.co.uk/reference/dictionaries/difficultwords/data/d0008814.html - if you are interested in anything having to do with the actual thread.

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    comments, 11 Jul 2006 @ 11:05am

    Everybody's

    Comments are ingenious :-)

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    bob, 11 Jul 2006 @ 11:13am

    Stop Blameing your Parents

    face it you are just a screwup and it is YOUR Choice to be one. if you cant handle that it is all your fault then stay out of the news and out of the way. Dont give me Ohh.. Boohoo it's all my parents fault. YOU are incharge of your own thoughts and actions. I've seen people with abusive drug addected parents turn out fine with no help from their family. and i've seen people with great parents turn out to be drug addected abusive people. it is all YOUR fault most people are just too lazy to take the blame for their own choices. so screw some FAG with a Microscope looking at genes saying Blame your Parents. the only thing you couldn't choose is how you look unless you are talking about your FAT butt that wont even getup off the couch to answer the phone.

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Nadia, 11 Jul 2006 @ 11:33am

    FAT butt

    ha ha, i love mine :)

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    wolff000, 11 Jul 2006 @ 11:35am

    Bravo Bob

    Got to see the last post or possibly the one above by the time I finish typing is dead on. Stop blaming everyone else for all your problems and deal with them like an adult. When i was a kid and I blamed things on others I got in trouble so how come when you are an adult and blame things on otheres you get a news artcle about it?

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    ForkBoySpam, 11 Jul 2006 @ 11:43am

    YES!!!

    Neophilia - I got a new buzz word!!!! Can't wait to start using it in memos...

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Raekwon, 11 Jul 2006 @ 11:55am

    Who Cares?

    Neophilia? Does it need a name? I suppose. My uncle spends nearly every paycheck on a new this, or a better that and so far it has caused him to get a divorce, lose his home, lose his kids, and lose his job. Addictions are addictions, whether it be cocaine or an Ipod. Impulsiveness and a desire for instant gratification are the culprits. I would be willing to bet that most people with "Neophilia," also battle with other addictions (ex: gambling, drinking, etc.) or have at some point within thier lives. Not being able to be satisfied with your life, or being too lazy to fix it, chemical imbalances, or life-related trauma. I'm not saying you should blame your problems on someone else, all I'm saying is that addiction can be very serious and in any form grow beyond one's control.

    I've got my flame retardant suit on, proceed.

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    bendodge, 11 Jul 2006 @ 12:47pm

    Greed

    This is a problem with mankind since Adam sinned. It is pure and simple greed, and usually shows most in kids who are not made to work and be responsible for their actions.

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Raekwon, 11 Jul 2006 @ 1:28pm

      Re: Greed

      Yeah too bad that your "Adam" is a mthyological being. So is your "God" for that matter.

      [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 11 Jul 2006 @ 1:48pm

    There's necrophiliacs in Oblivion

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Sam, 11 Jul 2006 @ 2:31pm

    Addict

    I just went through a 12 step program to cure my IPOD addiction. It was very effective. It turns out that I was able to cure my ipod addiction with heroin. It took only 6 of the 12 steps before I forgot that music even existed. I highly recommend it.

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 11 Jul 2006 @ 2:48pm

    I can attest to the legitimacy of this, gentlemen, by virtue of most definitely lacking any measure of this gene. I will use my black and white iriver and black and white kyocera phone and win2000 desktop theme until the day I die. New sucks. New and improved is ok but the two are not necessarily related.

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Josef K., 11 Jul 2006 @ 3:02pm

    Private Eye

    Neophilia isn't a new buzzword, Private Eye (UK satirical magazine) coined it a while ago. However, they meant it in the sense that:

    Neophilia is the new Road Rage.

    Or something like that. On another note, Bob, maybe you can blame yourself for the abysmal grammar/spelling there? People weren't actually blaming their parents (asides from passing it on), they were saying they have found evidence that this is caused by a genetic predisposition. Whereas you have anecdotal evidence and diatribe. You should co-write a book with Ann Coulter.

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 11 Jul 2006 @ 3:11pm

    neocanaries

    Early adopters perform a necessary and valuable service. They're like the canaries in mineshafts that get sacrificed for everyone elses benefit. Where would the world be if we didn't have suckers?

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Louis, 12 Jul 2006 @ 2:57am

    Wow, that explains it then...

    I wonder if you can get meds for this? ...man, I could sure go for a new notebook right about now.

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    thecaptain, 12 Jul 2006 @ 5:18am

    Personal Responsibility.


    R.I.P.

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]


Who Needs To Limit Free Speech When You Can Coerce People To Do It Themselves
UK ISP Not Convinced By Recording Industry's Unequivocal Evidence
Follow Techdirt
Essential Reading
Techdirt Deals
Report this ad  |  Hide Techdirt ads
Techdirt Insider Discord

The latest chatter on the Techdirt Insider Discord channel...

Loading...
Recent Stories

Friday

19:39 Important Announcement: Techdirt Is Migrating To A New Platform (0)
More arrow

This site, like most other sites on the web, uses cookies. For more information, see our privacy policy. Got it
Close

Email This

This feature is only available to registered users. Register or sign in to use it.