This video raises many good points about the consumerism and life cycle of mobile phones. The video has been created as a cartoon to engage the audience and easily express the undermining messages of the video. The mobile phone is no longer a luxury item but a necessity. Due the continual technology upgrades and new designs, mobile phones are being replaced on average, every year. The responsibilities of mobile phone designers is increasing as the number of mobile phones which are discarded increase very day. The video makes not of the responsibility of designers to ensure that mobile phones are designed in an environmentally friendly way such as designing for disassemble. Throughout the video it is mentioned that consumers are addicted to mobile phones which is the driving force behind the creation and design of phones. Consumers are not only addicted to the function and aesthetic appeal of mobile phones, but the social image which is associated with particular phones.
Currently one percent of one billion phones created are recycled! This figure is alarming and emphasises the environmental impact of mobile phones, enforcing the message of designer responsibility. The video makes mention of the 'irresponsible parents' of phones, referring to the designers and the ways in which mobile phones are designed and manufactured. There is currently a push for sustainable design, in which designing for disassemble is a key factor. Designing for disassemble refers to the ways which products can be designed to ease the disassembling process at the end of a products life. Mobile phones contain many valuable components and minerals including; gold, palladium and silver. recently companies and organisations have recognised the recovery value of mobile phone components and have begun to disassemble the phones and recover theses components and sell them.
Designers and consumers both play a key role in the environmental impact of mobile phones. The addiction and push for upgraded models of phones displayed consumers require designers to meet the consumers needs and design more and more phones continually. This type of design is referred to as consumer led design or marked led design. Designer led design is where designers design products which are not essential for consumers but more of a luxury. This type of design leads to the addiction of products and their technologies which is increasingly evident in mobile phone design.
Mobile phones will continue to be an issue for the environment unless sustainable design is practiced across the world. The components of phones can be used to create many different products including cameras, USB sticks, computers, radios, etc. Through the practice of sustainable design and 'cradle to grave' life cycle analysis mobile phone waste can be significantly reduced.
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