"Minimalism"

Saw an interesting article come through on Google Reader today from Leo Babauta, courtesy of Miss Spencer, about the iPhone 4S. Rather surprisingly, it didn't have anything to do with Steve Jobs' recent death. The gist of the post is about consumerism, and rejecting material goods in favor of, "contentment without products." I have no argument with this ideal, although "no" products may be unrealistic-- especially for Leo, who is using quite a lot of products in order to publish that blog of his. My beef is with sentiments like this:

Five years ago, the iPhone didn’t exist. It wasn’t a need in your life. You were able to live perfectly without it. And now that it does exist, all of that is true. It’s Apple’s marketing that has worked on us, and we’re fools for it.

To that I would add:

Don't give in to the hype about vaccines and nutrition and education either. People did "just fine" without those 200 years ago. People still "get by" in third world countries without these niceties. Don't be a fool!

Now obviously this is hyperbole. I'm not seriously comparing the iPhone to a 2000 calorie diet or not dying from malaria.

Is having an iPhone a luxury? Certainly. But so is having a digital camera, a cell phone, an iPod or a computer, and I sure as hell bet Leo owns at least one of those! If you aren't going to gripe about any of them along with the iPhone, then it's pretty hypocritical to critize a device that conveniently (and cheaply, compared to buying a bunch of one-task devices separately) covers all of those at once. Isn't that kind of right up a "minimalist's" alley?

And not to mention, why is suddenly the iPhone 4S the reason not to get a smartphone? Is Leo okay with Droids and Blackberries? Where's the post about resisting the overwhelming consumer urge, brought on by the sheer power of sly marketing, to purchase a Samsung Nexus?

I've made my orignal iPhone last for over 4 years, and even now I don't want to give it up because it's been such a faithful and useful companion. But! I'll be getting an iPhone 4S as an eventual replacement so I can take videos of the daughter that will be joining us in December. It will be one device, replacing one device, which replaced 4 devices in my life 4 years ago. Are any of them a "necessity"? No, probably not. I'll concede that point. Will my girl grow up just fine without them? Sure. But choosing a quality product that I know from experience will last a long time and serve me well is not a bad decision, and not something I think is a wise choice as a source of criticism. Poor Leo:

I’ve wanted an iPhone for almost 5 years now, but haven’t bought one because I know I don’t need it. Will it make my life a bit more fun? Sure, possibly — but so will a walk in the park with my kids, or a hike with a friend, or a free book at the library.

Why not do both? I've gotta be honest: It sounds like Leo's been missing out on more than a little fun.