Personally, I think this is a matter of both want and need. Our society has re-engineered electronic devices as a necessity for class, work, and mainstream society. Society's new hyper fixation on convenient electronic books, material etc, has both negative and positive aspects. This new trend has significantly helped decrease deforestation rates and is more convenient than the alternatives.
      However, we don't always need the most recent and advertised technological device. With the purchasing of these "new gadgets" we are promoting e-waste, and discouraging recycling. According to an article by John Fuller "most gadgets offer comes with a cost, both environmentally and economically. Whenever we turn on a light, watch television or plug in a laptop, we're using energy. To create most of this energy, we have to burn fossil fuels like oil, natural gas, and coal, all of which release carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere."
      Most people when purchasing a  new technological device do not weigh the environmental factors and detriments. I think we should make more awareness to this matter.

Although it is true that the craze for the latest product is mostly unnecessary and needs to be stopped or at least decreased in effect, there are actions being taken that have been being taken for a rather long time against the e-waste that has been generated, the abuse of electronics, and the subsequent releasing of carbon dioxide.  For example, in 2010 Japan, there was a movement motivated by electronic singer Hatsune Miku and cash prizes to bring in e-waste, " The government estimates the phones yielded 22 kilograms of gold, 79 kilograms of silver, two kilograms of palladium and over five tons of copper" (CNN).  Also, a charity which has existed since 2004 called "Cell Phones for Soldiers" takes cell phones, tablets, and smart phones, and gives them to active soldiers.  So, there are, in fact, options and active functions working to prevent e-waste.   
And on the topic of wasting fossil fuels when we turn on lights and use other electronics of that ilk, in 2013, the usage of solar panels increased 41%, and the Obama Administration vowed to cut carbon emissions by co al plants by 30% by 2030.  Google has also started Google Sunspot, a project to add solar panels to homes across the US. Also, in 2015 the number of workers working on solar panels in the US to surpass the number of people working on coal mining and oil and gas extraction, and the number will continue to grow.  Adding to this factor, the cost to install solar panels has dropped by over 70% in only 10 years.
All in all, the consumers may not be weighing the good and the bad, but there will soon come a time when that will be unnecessary, as the good will become the norm and the bad will become a thing of the past.

Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_waste_in_Japan
http://travel.cnn.com/tokyo/shop/urban- … cs-464333/
http://www.techrepublic.com/article/sta … s-to-know/
http://www.seia.org/research-resources/ … ustry-data