Got to get that gadget? It may be your genes

Published on 11/07/2006 00:31

THE woman fiddling with the most up-to-date mobile phone; the man with the latest electronic personal organiser; the children hooked on portable game systems...they, and millions more, are the victims of neophilia, an overwhelming need for the new and novel.

Now scientists have found a genetic basis for the affliction. They say people with a specific form of a cellular enzyme, known as monoamine oxidase A, are more in need of stimulation from new things.

In a paper published in the scientific journal Psychiatric Genetics, researchers from Japan's Yamagata University School of Medicine say the enzyme is "significantly associated with higher scores of novelty-seeking".

Essentially, that means people with the genetic predisposition to replace an existing gadget with the updated version simply cannot help themselves.

It may sound like a fantastic excuse for taking home a new laptop computer when the old one is still in pristine working order, but researchers say t

here are some fairly clear parallels with addiction disorders, and that this makes that sector of the population fertile ground for any company plugging the latest version of its gadget.

In a report on the phenomenon of "otaku" people, who are engrossed in the comic book and animated movie fantasy world, Nomura Research Institute supported the scientists' findings by saying there was a sub-section of people who would always buy the newest release, no matter the price, simply because they had to have it.

Not everyone buys into the theory, however, with critics suggesting the need for the newest is a relatively recent craving which, by definition, can't be genetic.

Others say it is purely a function of the curiosity that is innate in human beings, and that modern popular culture is helping to stimulate that fascination.