If you remember the days when cell phones were first coming out, you’ve seen some serious changes take place.

Most of these changes have been for the better, making phones faster, easier to use, and more connected to the world at large. However, one thing that you also would’ve noticed is that phones and pretty much all other devices seem to become more breakable as time goes on.

If you were to drop your Nokia flip-phone on the ground, you’d probably be a bit concerned and want to have a look. However, most of the time, everything would be fine. These days the digital components in our devices have made them far more fragile. This is even true of other, larger devices, such as tractors. Of course, from a company’s perspective it’s always easier when customers just buy replacements, and more profitable too. The only problem is we are fast approaching a critical mass where everything is simultaneously too expensive and too breakable.

This issue has even caused a movement which calls for legal changes to correct the situation. Some are calling for laws that require companies to make replacement parts readily available, with repair instructions included. 20 US states are also considering these “right to repair” laws as well. This would likely make many consumers happy, but it would of course come at a cost to big tech companies like Apple. The cost-benefit ratio would be positive for the average consumer, as this kind of law would improve the average device’s longevity and save consumers money.