Has the desire for the latest technology got seriously out of hand?
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According to a BBC News report today, a 17 year old Chinese schoolboy sold one of his kidneys over the internet just so he could buy an iPad2!
I have to admit that I was totally shocked by this! But what I found more deeply worrying was that the BBC seems to have reported this event because, and I quote...'the case highlights China's black market in organ trafficking. A scarcity of organ donors has led to a flourishing trade'.
While I wouldn't disagree with the BBC that that is true, what I find much more deeply worrying is that the boy's desire for the latest technology was so strong that he was willing to part with a kidney to possess it!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-13639934
So, what do you all think?
Responses (6)
personally I think it's tragic that someone would go those lengths, to get what he wants, but the media influences the impressionable to want need/must have all the latest gadgets and techy gear, and it isn't necessary at all.
Hi - In a queer way it's the old saying "keeping up with the Jones" as the expression goes and it is very sad people are going to these lengths just to be like their friends and have everything they desire. It may be in the future he would need that kidney and how would he feel then? What an awful world we live in sometimes. Why not get a job on a weekend and pay for it that way.
I think it is very sad and as parents, adults or citizens we need to try to engage wth the younger people around us to help them develop healthier attitudes to pressure selling and help them to reflect on their own self esteem, and nurture realistic values. I would hope that parents today would try to limit their children's access to this type of technology in their formative years, in order that they can develop a sense of what real life,real " create your own amusement" and real feedback from such activities can bring.If bolstering their sense of identity and self esteem through more traditional pursuits, and developing real social skills from real life and real time interactions can be achieved, maybe they would become more resistant to advertising.A sense of what the consequences would be financially if one always got what one wanted should be engendered in the young also. It is a huge subject for discussion.
It is indeed a huge subject, instinct, and you're so right...we definitely do need to instil more realistic and healthy attitudes in our young people.
It is indeed a sad, sad world where the 'want' factor has got so out of hand that people will indeed go to such lengths. Thank goodness, in theory, that couldn't happen in this country.
And it is impossible to imagine what actually went through this boys mind, some may even say a perverse and unbalanced way of thinking. And as you say, the bait was the latest bit of techno kit. Indeed, if it had been a flat screen TV, iPod or simple laptop, he may never have thought in this way. It's just the massive allure of the latest technology and for Master Wong, the whole thing has most certainly got out of hand.
Okay, he didn't actually hurt anyone in the process ( apart from giving his mother trauma ) and he could have resorted to crime or fraud to get the money together. In a way, the whole story smacks of desperation and undeniable lust for the seemingly un-havable! That's where the kidney came in.
But you have to take this further and ask why, oh why, does the Chinese black market work in such a dark and illicit manner alongside the medical industry? Inscrutable they may be but righteous they are not!
The boy bought a laptop as well, Snoops, I expect his poor mother just couldn't afford to buy these things for him. And are we so much better in this country? How often do you read about teens and other not so young people stabbing and beating up others to steal the latest mobile phone from their victim?!
I know this is going to sound like an awful cliche, but I really do blame the parents.
We were brought up to know that we couldn't just have everything we wanted, we had to save up for it and make the choice between things we could afford when it came to spending our pocket money. If we'd been diligent and saved up, then Mum and Dad might subsidise the purchase, but certainly not just because we said we wanted it.
I do have some sympathy for the kids of today, having the peer pressure to get the latest phone or computer, but I also remember wanting the latest bike when I was about 11 and not just getting it on demand.
Whatever happened to the concept of knowing the value of money?
There is an awful lot of truth in that, Feline. We were brought up the same way as you, and taught the same things. I tried to do the same with my son and daughter, my daughter is excellent at managing finances, my son....hopeless! Go figure! :-)
I too read this story with mounting horror, fruity.
I can't add much to the excellent responses, except to wonder what he will do when a newer model comes out and he hasn't got another kidney to sell!
Good point, Feline!
Exactly Feline, the iPad2 might last for 5 years if he's lucky - how long would that kidney have proved useful!
Yes Fruity, this is one of the saddest things I've read and as Feline points out what happens when he wants the next gizmo that comes along.
I would hope that it doesn't happen in this country Snoopy but then I fear people resort to other extreme measures to ensure the latest craze.
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I agree, lakes, the media, especially advertising, has a lot to answer for.
Hi fruitcake you have certainly highlighted the problem with many of our youngsters and their wants and this has brought about a real good discussion. My worry is what will they sell next? In another few months the market will be flooded with more and more technology. It is a wonderful thing but there is a limit to most people's finances and this eventually gets them into debt.