Contributed by James, Co-founder of our friends Culture Chronicle.

Recently it was Apple’s annual event where their new iPhones, iPads, and everything else were announced. With this event came the usual reactions from both sides. Apple fans were quick to announce that these new devices were the best ever, while everyone else denounced them as overpriced fashion statements. You’ll never get both sides to agree on which phone is the best, but there is one thing that they all have in common…they run the risk of ruining the technology industry.

This is by no means isolated to the world of technology, fanboys (and girls) exist in pretty much every aspect of life. Comic books, movies, even stupid things like food have people willing to argue until they turn blue that you are wrong, and you suck for choosing something they don’t like. However it’s in technology that the fights seem much more rabid. Just look at the console wars. The fight between the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One fans (sorry Wii U, but no one cares about you) often turn into the worst slagging matches you’ll find on the Internet.

So why is this a bad thing? A bit of “healthy” competition is good right? Well that’s exactly the problem. These fanboys would like nothing more than to see their opponents fail, their merchandise get taken off the market, and for their chosen saviour of technology to reign supreme. Always conveniently forgetting that it’s the sheer fact that there are multiple options available that keep the market going. I’m not going to go too much into the economics of it (mainly because I’d like you to reach the end of this post before falling sleep), but a monopoly in the market would see all of us customers get screwed royally.

Without competitors to drive them, companies would see no need to innovate their products. I mean…why bother when people have to buy what you sell anyway right? Apple may never be the first to implement the latest features in their phones, but they do eventually because they need to compete with Android. And on the other hand systems like Android only exist because Apple helped popularise the use of touch screens and smartphones. Before then these kinds of devices were only used by tech savants and business people, us commoners would all be stuck with our brick phones without the developments we’ve seen.

Its already been the case that at least one mobile maker has had to take drastic action just to survive in this cut throat world. HTC has constantly had to slash forecasted profits, cut staff, and generally do anything they can to stay afloat. This is despite making some of the best phones on the market, from both a technical and critical perspective. They’ve never been able to crack the market though, as Apple fans won’t touch anything Android, and most Android fans already have their manufacturer of choice (most likely to be Samsung). So now we run the risk of losing a great mobile maker, simply because people refuse to give them a chance.

I think one of the most shocking attempts to limit the market by these fanboys was with the recent release of the Apple’s “Movie to iOS” app on the Google Play Store . A simple app aimed at those wanting to move from Android to iOS, to make sure that they can keep all their messages, pictures, and the like when they change phone. This was immediately rounded upon by die hard Android fans whose aim was to give the app so many negative reviews that it got lost in the depths of the Play Store. Now not content with deciding which phone they want, they want to make it more difficult for the general public to switch from one type of phone to another, which they are well within their right to do.

What doesn’t help either is that some of the companies themselves are revelling in this little war, and are actively encouraging it. I’m sure most of us will remember the old Mac vs PC adverts from back in the day. Where Apple would poke fun at Microsoft for being too boring, and convincing people to come over to Mac because they’re soooo cool. Well in modern days it is now Apple on the receiving end, with Samsung doing the attacking. The problem is these are no longer fun and upbeat, but actually quite malicious. One of them made fun of Apple fans for queuing up for days to get the latest Apple tech, calling them sheep and the like, while the cool Samsung kids breezed by with their phones in hand. Ignoring the fact that Samsung would love to have people queuing around the block for their latest phones, this encourages Samsung fanboys to repeat the mockery, which only provokes reactions on the other side.

There’s an interesting article done by PC Mag around the time of last years Apple event. This article accurately states that these fanboys don’t love tech, they love attention. In a similar way to internet trolls, a lot of the attacks are simply a way to go “hey…look at me…I have an opinion on this matter which you should all listen to. And my opinion is correct!”. Retaliation to these comments only serve to give the initiator power, and validates their position. The opposition to the product is simply done out of spite, rather than any sensible response to the quality of the tech. They have pitched their tent in a particular camp and now cannot accept that other camps have good points, or that their own has flaws.

We as people like a wide variety of things, and no two people like exactly the same (it would be quite a boring world if that was the case). Usually when two people don’t like the same things they either have a (friendly) debate about it, or just agree to disagree. Imagine if we argued about every little difference (no you can’t like the colour orange, orange is the worst colour ever and you’re stupid for liking it. You should like blue instead), it would be ridiculous. But these people cannot see past their own feelings and see the good points elsewhere. Everyone needs to chill out a bit and get on with their own lives, they’re far too short to be worrying about what phone someone else has.

You can find more articles written by James (everything from The Flash to The Last of Us 2) over at Culture Chronicle here.