technoism
n.— «“Because everyone else has it” reverberates as a familiar refrain on holiday wish lists. And that is definitely a symptom of “technoism,” a term Davis coined to describe purchases made to keep up rather than to meet a particular function.» —“Gadgets seduce buyers with newness, not need” by Dave Gussow St. Petersburg Times (Florida) Dec. 19, 2005. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
It was a dark and stormy night. So begins the long and increasingly convoluted prose of Edwards Bulwer-Lytton’s best-known novel. Today the annual Bulwer-Lytton Contest asks contestants for fanciful first sentences that are similarly...
A documentary film called My Beautiful Stutter follows youngsters at a summer camp specifically for stutterers. It’s a place for finding acceptance, support, and confidence for navigating the larger world. And:, “The High Priestess of...