2020: THE YEAR OF THE GADGET

“The stores that dealt in gadgetry - Circuit City, RadioShack, Best Buy - had gone out of business or become glum warehouses for no-fun products.”

But - due in part to the real end-of-the-world threat posed by COVID-19 - gadgets have made a remarkable recovery.

Herrman explains:

“Seven months of shattered plans, lockdowns and rapidly improvised new normals have converted jaded consumers around the world into frantic gadget freaks, each grasping for items that, in their chaotic disparity, tell the story of a strange, dark year: pulse oximeters, the iPhone 12, HEPA air filters, infrared thermometers, bare-minimum tablets and laptops for schooling, the PlayStation 5, ring lights, miniature freezers, home networking equipment, and noise cancelling headphones.”

I must say, that if there was a looming threat to the world of gadgetry before 2020, I wasn’t aware of it. The article’s sub-heading claims: “A brutally unexpected year turned millions of people into gear nerds, whether they liked it or not.” Me? Well I’ve been a loud and proud gear nerd for decades now. And I like it.

Herrman, on the other hand, expects the gadget boom will end with “a bunch of little-used and rapidly obsolete junk stowed away in closets and landfill around the world”. I certainly see that being the case where “smart” skipping ropes are concerned, or for Charmin’s “Rollbot” – if it ever sees the light of day. Even by my standards, a robot that delivers toilet paper is a step too far.

Herrman contests:

“This isn’t spontaneous mass hobbyism or a slide into decadence. It’s a cornered populace spending what they can in hopes that some novel invention will stave off disaster, or even just gloom.”

It makes sense that individuals adapt to their newfound situation in the best way they know how – by throwing money at it.

Take desk ring lights, a compact gadget hugely popular with the Instagram generation. It’s not beyond the realms of possibility that ordinary working folk have succumbed to the trend too – if only to appear half-human on their sixth Zoom conference of the day. After all, there are only so many “you look how I feel” comments one can take before the siren call of flawless skin and sparkling eyes becomes too great to ignore. Thankfully for me, my appearance is the least of my problems. I wear my perma-tired and dishevelled look as a badge of honour, having pulled more than a few late nights this week alone.

I have, however, been a long-time fan of many of the other gadgets and gizmos that have enjoyed an uplift this year. In August, I shared details of my DIY garden cinema – an outdoor projector and 20-foot inflatable screen - which proved to be a godsend for entertaining the little Lambs during lockdown.

Whilst I’ve been based from home for more than decade, thousands were experiencing regular home-working for the first time thanks to the “work from home if you can” mandate from Boris and pals. Unsurprisingly, this led to a boom in tech products: printers, webcams, Bluetooth speakers, wireless mice... but also SAD lights, air purifiers, espresso machines and fitness equipment. 

I wouldn’t be shocked if the pandemic had also seen a spike in watercooler sales – anything to recreate the office environment, even if you were sharing your theories about Mare of Easttown with Wallace the puppy!