A friend just commented on how silly it is for all these people to line up outside the Apple stores today to buy the iPhone6. Can they not make calls on their current phone?
I couldn't agree more.
They seem to be a slightly more moneyed version of the people who used to camp out outside the movie theaters so they could be the first to see the latest installment of the Star Wars saga.
Was there really that much of a difference between seeing the movie at that special midnight showing on Friday morning and seeing a matinee later on in the weekend? Was the outcome going to be any different? Could they really not wait to find out what happened next to Luke Skywalker?
The only explanation for that phenomenon was that they actually enjoyed the camping out.
When else could they enjoy that delicious sense of keen anticipation? Where else could they actually dress up in Star Wars costumes and not be ostracized for it? Where else could they get the sense that they were really happening people? Who else but their fellow enthusiasts could give them the sense of actually belonging?
The movie, when they finally saw it, was quite likely anticlimactic for them. (I've never been able to watch more than five minutes of any of the sequels on TV.) But that was okay, because the pre-movie party -- their version of the red carpet -- was so much fun.
At least the iPhone6 enthusiasts waiting in line all over the globe this morning aren't dressed up in costume. But it's hard to believe that any significant percentage of them have exhausted the available apps on the iPhones 4 or 5.
Once again, it seems to be the anticipation itself that's the draw. That, and the opportunity to commune with all their fellow aficionados.
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5 comments:
I think they like the idea of being the first to have it and see it.
I guess the star wars fans want to see it as soon as possible and its a social event. There might even be real fan status. I can understand that more than the iphone thing. At least you get to watch something.
It strikes me as being very childish, in the literal sense. I'm sure most people can relate to the excitement of waiting for a new toy as a kid, but most people also grow out of it. I don't think it's a coincidence that you mainly see nerds camping out like this. I read a lot of tech forums and *many* nerds get idiotically excited over Christmas presents, just like kids.
A --
Kids waiting for Christmas, that's a great analogy.
I once had a co-worker who would get super excited about Black Friday, starting her shopping experience in the wee hours of the morning. Personally, I don't think that it's necessary to shop that early in the morning for stuff that's on sale, items that will still be on sale later in the day and so forth.
-birdie
Birdie --
Agreed, I've never seen any of those things as being worth losing sleep over.
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