Why not to buy a new phone

Is there a new phone you want? Maybe a computer that all your friends seem to have? But have you ever paused to think about what technology does to our beautiful planet, not to mention the people living on it?

To make a single phone, it takes 240 gallons of water. It takes a full 879,999,374 gallons of water to make just one laptop. Apple alone sell 2.8 million laptops every year, as well as 1.2 million desktops. That's an astounding 351,999,749,600 gallons of water every year, used solely by Apple, solely for computers. That might seem like a lot of numbers, but I'm sure we can all agree that we use way too many resources. So by buying a new phone or computer, you are literally depriving someone of water, which could kill them, so not buying new technology can literally save lives.

Not to mention the harsh chemicals that go into making technology. Those three cameras on the iPhone 11? The new folding Samsung? Sure, they might be fun to use, but you're probably intoxicating someone's drinking water, or worse, by buying it.

I have plenty of friends with some of the newest tech (why anyone would buy a twelve-year-old even a relatively good phone is beyond me), but I'm sure the environment wasn't one of their priorities when they bought it. Even my own family, who are very eco-friendly, still buy new laptops and tablets pretty often. Since technology's negative effect on the environment is not particularly well-known, there aren't many companies that sell sustainable products, since no one knows that they should be buying more eco-friendly tech. We can't solve a problem that nobody knows about.

Thanks for reading, and, next time, I hope you think before you buy.