To find the genesis of the term neophilia We must go back to the 1960s, when the American sociologist Everett Rogers, from Ohio State University, did his doctoral thesis on how innovations spread and how the market adopts them.
In this context, Rogers defined the different types of consumers, and one of the categorizations was that of early adopters (the first consumers). Within this segment, he identified a subgroup that he described as innovators. Subsequently, the term of neophiliawhich would have been popularized by the writer Robert Anton Wilson, who associated it with a type of personality marked by a strong affinity towards the new.
Although it is not considered a disease, neophilia or the obsession with having the latest is rather an excessive, almost obsessive, tendency to always get the latest on the market. It should not be related to compulsive buying disorder, which is classified as a pathology in which the person who suffers from it is not able to control their impulses, an aspect that ends up affecting their daily life.
Neophilia or the obsession with having the latest is rather an excessive, almost obsessive, tendency to always get the latest on the market.
Studies carried out by Japanese scientists at the Yamagata University School of Medicine observed that individuals who have an enzyme called Monoamine Oxidase A tend to always look for new things and that this contributes to neophilia.
However, other researchers argue that the cause must be sought in history, economics and fashions. For Bob Thompson, director of the Popular Culture study center at Syracuse University, in the United States, it is the continuous gearing of the cultural industry that develops the prevailing need to acquire each new equipment and application that appears.
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For his part, Dr. Albert Vinyals, a specialist in consumer psychology, points out that, in reality, “what affects us most when it comes to consuming is the so-called perceived obsolescence.” In 1954, industrial designer Clifford Brooks Stevens first talked about this concept and defined it as “the consumer’s desire to own something a little newer, a little better, and a little before it is necessary.”
It is very common to feel this sensation when we look at our cell phone and see that our friends have newer versions, or when the shirt we have is no longer worn with this cut or color, our computer is too wide, etc.
most tech neophiles are men
However, this “anguish” lasts for a moment and soon we calm down and feel that we do not need to change anything. On the other hand, neophiles are capable of “moving heaven and earth” when it comes to purchasing a new product. Likewise, if they know that the launch date is closer in another country, they will do “whatever it takes” to buy it abroad, even if it is just to have it a week before.
Various studies showed that the majority of technological neophiles are men, who tend to try products in advance to participate in forums and opinion groups because they need to gain prominence on the subject and to do so they seek information; They need to know everything to become a reference for new trends.
So we have to ask ourselves, do material things make us happy? Research like that of Daniel Gilbert of Harvard University says that only for a short time and that having many things to choose from makes us even less happy.
However, we must know that our brain is attracted to the new and if we are not attentive to this we can fall into the need to change our electronic devices, clothing and what the market can offer us in pursuit of a pleasure that lasts very little. . Vinyals presents in his works carried out through brain scans, how the peak of pleasure is generated just before paying for a product.
Fortunately, our brain has the ability to inhibit or brake and emotional self-management to give way to reflection. Thanks to this competence we can think a little more about things so as not to fall into perceived obsolescence and consider that we must constantly be with the latest in order to be recognized.
By: Dr. Carlos A Logatt Grabner – Physician, University of Buenos Aires. Master in Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology, University of Murcia. President Educate Association for Human Development
Bibliography:
- Riefer, P.S., Prior, R., Blair, N., Pavey, G., & Love, B.C. (2017). Coherency Maximizing Exploration in the Supermarket. Nature Human Behavior, 1, 0017. . <>
- Vinyals i Ros, A., (2016). The conscious consumer. Analysis of the psychosocial factors involved in sustainable consumption, based on the study of members of agro-ecological consumption cooperatives. Autonomous University of Barcelona. Department of Basic, Evolutionary and Educational Psychology.
- Vinyals i Ros, A., (2016). “The neophilia month of the iPhone.” Diari de Terrassa. <>
- Rogers, E.M., (1962). Diffusion of innovations. New York: Free Press.
- Raymond, ES, (1992). “A brief history of hackers.”
- Gilbert, D., (2007). Stumbling on Happiness. New York: HarperCollins.