In “Excerpt from Gadgets: Built To Not Last,” what does the phrase “throwaway culture” in paragraph 3 suggest about our society? Use two details from the excerpt to support your response.
The phrase "throwaway culture" in paragraph 3 suggests that our society has a disposable mindset, where we prioritize convenience over the durability and longevity of products. Two details from the excerpt that support this are:
1. "The gadget industry not only sells us phones we will dispose of after 18 months but also produces anything from printers to toasters that seem to age faster than we do." This detail highlights how products are designed to have a short lifespan, causing consumers to constantly replace them rather than repair or maintain them.
2. "When gadgets break, it’s often cheaper to replace them than to fix them." This detail shows that the cost of repairing products is often not worth it, leading to a culture of replacing and discarding rather than repairing and reusing.