The average American now holds onto their smartphone for 29 months, according to a recent survey by Reviews.org, and that cycle is getting longer. The average was around 22 months in 2016.

While squeezing as much life out of your device as possible may save money in the short run, especially amid widespread fears about the strength of the consumer and job market, it might cost the economy in the long run, especially when device hoarding occurs at the level of corporations.

Research released by the Federal Reserve last month concludes that each additional year companies delay upgrading equipment results in a productivity decline of about one-third of a percent, with investment patterns accounting for approximately 55% of productivity gaps between advanced economies. The good news: businesses in the U.S. are generally quicker to reinvest in replacing aging equipment. The Federal Reserve report shows that if European productivity had matched U.S. investment patterns starting in 2000, the productivity gap between the U.S and European economic heavyweights would have been reduced by 29 percent for the U.K., 35 percent for France, and 101% for Germany.

  • SpaceNoodle@lemmy.world
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    1 day ago

    The entire rationale given for the Amazon boycott on that site is an action taken by a former CEO. There’s no shortage of reasons to boycott Amazon, but it seems pretty ridiculous how little thought went into that page.

    • witten@lemmy.world
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      9 hours ago

      entire rationale

      I’m not sure if you’re sealioning—or just not reading the full page. Here are some other quotes from it about Amazon, specifically in regards to boycott rationale:

      • “and Amazon, for funding this administration to secure their own corporate tax cuts”
      • “Amazon holds a monopolistic position in the market”
      • “contributes to dangerous working conditions for its employees and drivers”