Thousands of gadgets going to waste

Broken, in boxes and gathering dust…

31 May 2007 16:13 GMT / By Amy-Mae Elliott

Virgin Media reports that the trend for the latest technology has reached fever pitch, with three quarters of consumers spending up to £10,000 in the past year on the latest gadgets - seven times more than they've spent on sprucing up their homes.

All well and good, but according to new research it's money down the drain for one in twenty, whose plasma TV is "gathering dust in the corner because they're clueless about setting it up". What?

Also stated: "A clumsy few (3%) even admit to breaking their new kit before they've even got it working, because they couldn't understand the instructions". Good grief!

Followed up by: "Only a quarter of people have got to grips with the most basic functions on their digital televisions, broadband services and mobile phones - leaving a wealth of useful and entertaining functions undiscovered". Sigh.

And, "more than one in ten (13%) of over-55s are still relying on out of date video recorders and hi-fis bought years ago because they don't understand the new, improved technology available". Bless.

"Even the younger generation admit to being bamboozled, with 10% of 16-24 year olds racing out to buy top-of-the-range MP3 players only to leave them unused because the instructions are too daunting". Wasters.

This survey reads like a Hammer Horror story to most gadget-lovers – Virgin are going to try and do their bit though - in a bid to tackle this epidemic of wasted gadgetry, Virgin Media has teamed up with Jason Bradbury from The Gadget Show to produce Your Digital Home Made Simple - a straight-talking guide to help consumers get the most out of today's modern technology.

Follow the link to find out more.