Digital Desires: Mediated Consumerism and Climate Crisis

Abstract

The media and communications industry is not commonly considered as one of the world’s biggest climate culprits, especially compared with energy and transport. Yet the media sector is almost uniquely destructive in that it is structured to profit from creating as much electronic waste as possible through planned obsolescence. This business model relies on selling hardware with a built-in expiry date, becoming outdated and requiring replacement within 2 years. Some companies have gone further by taking measures to prevent consumers from extending the life of their devices. The environmental consequences of resulting hyper-production cycle are crippling, with the majority of CO2 emitted by such devices being produced in the manufacturing stage. Meanwhile, advertising is seeping further into media content to promote rampant consumerism, extolling the pleasures of consumption as a balm to any environmental impact. Curtailing this consumption presents a more difficult sell.