Built in Self Destruct Mechanism

I just realized that my refrigerator is 20 years old and still going strong. The walk man that I purchased forever and a day ago still transmits the few stations broadcasting on regular radio. The blender from the late 80's and various other kitchen tools from the same time that are hiding in cabinets and drawers are all in fantastic working order too. IF all of these not so modern devices are still functioning, why is it we need new "smart" phones every two years, our computers only come with a one year guarantee and our other electronic devices tend to "fill up" so quickly we need to get more?

There absolutely has to be a built in self destruct mechanism in all our so called modern appliances. I understand that technology moves forward at an alarmingly fast pace but why must we make devices that aren't meant to last? Some of us don't need to keep up with the Jones' (who are those people any way?) Some of us would like to have reliable equipment. I would rather invest a little more now to have something I know will last than  spend less on the great "deal" that will just cause me to have to spend more in a year or less.

It is rather annoying to me that a printer I have had and minimally used for maybe 2 years has not only developed an issue which means I need to replace it, but that I had to search to find this particular model because 2 years was apparently all the life it was expected to live. I was forced to upgrade to a smart phone because of this line of thinking. My perfectly reliable, plenty of power for me multi-media phone has been phased out of the market. You can either have the basic flip or a smart phone but you aren't allowed to be somewhere in between. In order to make sure I changed my phone which had been working well, slowly developed issues that made it unreliable. I also noticed that it was no longer available for sale. All of this occurred right before time for me to upgrade my phone. How convenient is that?! 

We are in far too much of a hurry these days. The instant gratification craze  is killing us. Quality is no longer a guarantee no matter how hefty the price tag. The idea that you NEED the new and better has been pushed upon each new potential customer. "Oh you have level 3 I already have the 4th edition."  Children should not be that aware of consumerism. Once upon a time we took the time to make the buyer proud to come home to well built custom, non cookie cutter quality; It cost more but it was worth it.