Stop Buying Things That Solve a Problem You Don’t Have
(Note to self)
My Medium friends can read this story over there as well.
I once bought a banana slicer.
Yes, a curved, yellow-plastic, banana-shaped device designed to solve the all-too-well-known problem of slicing a banana with a knife.
A problem, I might add, I had never once considered a problem until the day I saw a YouTube video with that thing and a handy Amazon link below it.
Of course, I clicked, rushed through the page, and read: “People who bought this also bought a …”
People.
Who are these people?
And what are they doing with so many bananas?
Anyway, that banana slicer was sitting in a drawer for five years until I gave it away. Used it once.
Here’s the thing. We seem to be living in the golden age of solving problems that don’t exist.
Never did. Never will.
“Problem-Solving” Products
Some products are truly great. They serve a real purpose and solve a problem.
Others not so much.
You’ve seen them. In every corner of your Instagram feed.
An ergonomic garlic peeler. A self-stirring mug. The smart water bottle that reminds you to drink water (which, ironically, you can only drink after charging the bottle for two hours).
All of them share one thing: they exist because someone said, “What if we could make this slightly more convenient?”
And you and I — like any rational, intelligent human being — saw the ad and thought, “Yes. My life would be better if my pillow had Bluetooth.”
It won’t.
Because the problem isn’t your pillow. Or your hydration. Or your knife skills.
The problem is that we’ve confused buying solutions with solving problems.
Fixing the Unbroken
Does it need fixing?
Marketers are masters at making us feel like we’re missing something. That’s why we buy Medium or Substack courses.
Their favorite strategy is the art of inventing inconvenience, in other words, convincing you that something completely fine is actually a modern tragedy in need of urgent fixing.
“Are you tired of struggling with tangled charging cables?” (No, but now I am.)
“Does your avocado always brown too soon?” (I’ve never thought about it, but thank you for the anxiety.)
“Do you ever wish your toothbrush could connect to Wi-Fi?” (…do I? Well of course I do… who wouldn’t?)
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