Example 1: I play table tennis, though due to being young adolescent and only having played it for the last ~3 years, I’ve never played in a competition for the local club. I live in Europe, by the way. One of the coaches sometimes talks about how my racket’s lack of really sticky rubber surface forces me into a different play style. He does this rarely, and isn’t all negative about it (“No wonder you did better against L. J., you both have this play style where you seldom enact torque on the ball which forces even me to think more about what to do next because I basically always do that, and expect others to do too”, roughly translated), and the last time he actually told me how I might like getting a new racket with different physical properties was like 1.5 years ago. He gave me a catalogue from a regional store, which I probably threw out some time between then and now probably because of how much I Hate buying things in general. I can see how when I progress in being able to control the ball, I can probably give up some control to gain speed, but I wanted to share how dogmatic I appear to be about this.
Example 2: I play osu!, a PC rhythm game where you click circles to the beat, though only since like February. I have a general negative reaction to the fact that most really good players, and also, as it appears due to lack of information, at least some normally skilled players, buy a drawing tablet to use as the aiming input device. Because these tablets have drivers that map one position on the tablet to one position on the screen consistently, unlike mice and the position on the table or trackpads, this is purported to eliminate drift, which is said to become a problem in longer levels. I have added a second keyboard to my setup because using the laptop keyboard didn’t feel ergonomic enough. Even though we had this keyboard lying around and my parents weren’t using it, this feels kind of hypocritical.
One reason to hate things that could be bought is that buying it will lead to an increased production of stuff, which is superficially bad for the environment, and that it will lead to the introduction of stuff into the “cluttered” home. (by the way, is “I have too much stuff (sunk space) therefore I should want to buy less without any other rational basis” fallacious?)
Another reason to hate things that could be bought is that my mom hates buying things for approximately the above reason, unless one is sure the thing is actually beneficial, which is like actually pretty nebulous because even the people who have the Thing sometimes don’t think it is better, and often apparently really don’t want to admit it.
Another reason to hate things that could be bought is that my parents, and especially my dad feel like they’re going to buy you things that you don’t want if you don’t check on them regularly. If we’re feeling particularly rebellious, we could argue this isn’t necessarily their fault, because buying things behind others backs and being ok with having things bought for you is normalized by Presents (for which I totally believe the argument that because no one knows what you want better than you, presents have less perceived value than things bought by oneself. I totally hate this about presents, and we are only slowly accomodating). Related: my family has at least 20 Tabletop games because we just couldn’t stop ourselves buying one at like every Presents festivity.
This stuff also ties into how I hate advertising. Much like with Presents, advertizing is a thing which reduces the ratio of perceived value per unit of currency, not by accidentally diminishing the perceived value, but by trying to make you buy things that have so little perceived value that they need to persuade you to buy them, because you wouldn’t buy them automatically. I think it’s more economical to hate advertising. You might say that advertising is trying to sway you to a competitor in some cases, where this doesn’t apply, though mental math suggests that companies that spend more on advertising can’t use that money to make the prices lower, they have to use the money from the customers they are basically buying with the advertising. Unsure.
Another reason to hate buying things is that in the two contexts described above, I feel like it is spiritually cheating. Yes, everyone* does it, but If you say something is based on skill, and then you find out that for the same skill level you get to win more games if you buy the Thing, this feels like an awkward, though way less pronounced parallel to pay to win video games, which definitely belong in hell at least figuratively. The Patreon Equivalent Support Purchase Argument does not even hold for most Things that can be bought, and it’s one of the few things that I think is actually in favour of ever buying any DLC or microtransactions.
Another reason to hate buying things is that I am too lazy or socially awkward (pick more than 0) to buy things, therefore “The Fox cannot reach the grapes and claims they are sour without evidence, or in this case, tries to surround himself with only evidence that they are sour”. This sounds like something a psychologist would say. Related: I am also too lazy or socially awkward to resell things, though that sounds much easier, maybe I should try that.
If you are somehow allergic to rankings (Jreg says: “the left is antihierarchical, therefore I am the only person capable of making a gender tier list”) you might say that you buy these Things to have more fun using them, because (learning to use|using) them is enjoyable in itself, and because you can buy yourself into social circles by (learning to use|using) them with others because everyone* has them.
Discuss any questionable upgrade gadgets you know so I don’t feel alone. Tell me whether there are any forums in- or outside the fediverse that I should re- or crosspost this or parts of this to. (Politely) state which of my arguments against (and in favour of) buying things you disagree with to give me a peek outside of my brain shaped echo chamber.
Alternate title: I hate buying things. Definitely not a Manifesto
I was a musician for a few years, and some players had what we jokingly called GAS. Which is “Gear Acquisition Syndrome”. They were always buying, selling, and trading things like amps, instruments, effects, etc.
I found all that constant GAS stuff to be very annoying. So I know where you’re coming from…I think.
I will give a mild counter-argument: an expensive tool probably won’t make you better at a task, but a cheap crappy tool very well could make you worse at a task. I think there’s a sweet spot somewhere in the middle.
But overall, I appreciate your anti-consumerism take. People buy too much crap.
I’m just a little GASy
I too went through my GAS phase. Multiple keyboards, guitars, e-drums, etc. Now I use a midi controller and software instruments and I’ve produced more music than I’ve ever made when I had an entire studio’s worth of gear.
Cycling is the same way. There is a huge difference between a $200 Walmart bike and $800 bike from an actual bike store. But there are people out there dropping $10k or more on a bike.
I remember the first time I went to get new tires for my road bike, the guy was like, “we have $20 ones and $50 ones.” When I asked what the difference was he said, “the $50 ones weigh about 2 oz less”
Again it’s all about finding the happy middle ground. I’ve purchased all of my bikes used or previous models. Yes, bicycles can have model years and you can save big when the new ones come out and they want to get rid of the old ones.
I have more fun playing ping pong / table tennis if I can spin the ball.
unless one is sure the thing is actually beneficial, which is like actually pretty nebulous because even the people who have the Thing sometimes don’t think it is better
Could you ask to use someone else’s racket to see if you like it? For more expensive equipment, you might be able to try it before you buy it or rent it.
I agree that low-effort obligatory gift-giving is wasteful, but gift-giving doesn’t have to be like that.
in the two contexts described above, I feel like it is spiritually cheating. Yes, everyone* does it, but If you say something is based on skill, and then you find out that for the same skill level you get to win more games if you buy the Thing, this feels like an awkward, though way less pronounced parallel to pay to win video games
Some equipment is for safety. I hope you’re not skimping there.
When you start to get more competitive in sports that can benefit from more expensive equipment, there’s a certain amount of budget that you’re basically expected to be spending at a given level. If you’re spending beyond that level, then people might feel like you’re getting an advantage over them, but otherwise, the playing field is level. Also, more expensive gear might not even be better for you at a given skill level - with table tennis, you need more fine control with a “faster” racket than with a slower one.
That said, it sounds like you’re using a $1 rubberless racket, and those are terrible to play with. You’re literally not able to even use fairly basic techniques with them. The difference between one of those and even a $5-$10 racket is huge - far bigger than the difference between one of those and a $50 racket for sure.
I think your heart is in the right place, but I wonder how you feel about tools and their quality vs. cost.
There are many easily made arguments to pay extra for quality, as you pay less in the long run, which is an idiom (“cheap tools you always buy twice”) but also very true in most cases. Then what about paying extra for ergonomics, reducing strain on your body and preserving health?
And then there’s the question where the line is between a hammer and a table tennis racquet.
Again, I think your heart is in the right place. There are few things more ridiculous, I feel, than absolute beginners of a sport in full brand gear from head to toe, even the stuff nobody who really practices the sport won’t actually use. But then you’ve been playing table tennis for a few years. How much is your current gear holding you back? True it takes a lot of effort to learn about what you like and need, but it definitely pays off. Why don’t you borrow a racquet from one of the other players once in a while for a match to get a feel for what you like?
I could have the best tennis racket in the world.
Nadal is gonna smoke me. You could remove the netting of his racquet entirely, I’m still losing.
A novice guitar player might be learning on their fucking sick $3000 strandberg that’s setup God damn perfectly, and they might pick up an acoustic guitar with bad action and poor intonation and just be at a total fucking loss. A seasoned veteran can make it sing.
Idk where I’m going with this. The player makes the instrument far more than the other way around. There are limits.
Try it (borrow some gear) with the recommended changes and see if it affects your performance. Then make a decision if the purchase cost versus your bump in performance is worth it. Take the consequences of your decision. Easy peasy.
I play tennis, and believe most of the performance is in my ability to drive and shape the ball. Some equipment makes a marginal improvement that doesn’t justify the cost. Others are just gimmicks. E.g. I now swear by a brand of shoes because they let me forget what my feet are doing and focus on the ball. They’re that good. So I made the plunge.
Tldr; don’t write off suggestions from others just because. Take it in stride and be the best version of yourself you can. If the additional gear helps, do it. If not nbd.
It’s not the things, it’s whatever is causing you to BUY the things. The things exist because people buy them, so why do they buy them? For anything “enhancement” it’s your inadequacy. You don’t think you’re good enough until you’re the best, and when someone offers you a way to get better for only 3 easy payments of 59.99, you take it.
Play the game to enjoy it. Sure, it feels good to win, but don’t get so hung up on it that you forget to enjoy the game when you’re losing.
I feel the same way. I put off purchases for a looong time. My biggest example is using my bed, household furniture in gerry-rigged ways instead of buying a weight bench for $200 for a couple of years. I don’t like accumulating too many things, and it is often true that you can do without buying a specialized item.
I think I am moving through this mentality a bit though, if there is a tool that will fundamentally improve my life in tangible ways, I try not to hesitate to buy it, because these kinds of things can make me more willing to actually do stuff. Most recent example for me is buying a thick kitchen apron, so my clothes don’t get wet when I’m washing dishes. Hate the feeling, but it inevitably happens, so then I would end up avoiding dishes.
Other things though, I have pretty cheap guitars and it’s fine because I’m not very good at guitar anyway. I don’t feel a need to buy lots of gear, but bought things for specific tasks like “I want to play standing up” so I got a mic stand.
I think you can have this utilitarian approach to purchases simultaneously with an anti consumption mindset.
Don’t buy things then.
I see this as minimalism, there is no need to own loads of stuff.
If I don’t buy useless stuff, there is less useless stuff that needs to be produced, and I have less useless stuff to take care off.
But what I really hate is when I buy some not-that-useless stuff that I actually need, and then there’s some “free merchandise” or “goodies”, which usually are just some cheap branded advertising items. And now I am forced to acknowledge the existence of this crap and have to throw it away. So this random crap was produced, packaged and shipped to me, just to end up in the trash and cause some minor annoyance.
And there is a fucking lot of random crap that ends up this way.
I would absolutely play osu with a pen tablet but thats because I played ouendan and eba on DS, and also already have a tablet for drawing stuff. sports gear I’ll never be good enough to justify having multiple of anything that isnt broken. things are just clutter and I regret almost everything I’ve ever purchased. I don’t need any of the stuff I own except for my car and bike and those arent even by choice.
The only thing that would actually make you marginally better at E-sports would be a machine capable of running the game of choice without any dips in performance. You’re not gonna be as good as you could if your rig only provides an inconsistent 30fps in a high-speed play game where everybody else can get 144FPS without breaking a sweat.
But it’s only going to help so far; it’s not going to actually make you better at the game. It just will prevent you getting screwed over by things out of your control.
A chair won’t do anything. Lights in your keyboard and mouse won’t do anything. Wrist pads will not only not make you play better, they can end up giving you carpal tunnel if used improperly, etc.
