Something disastrous has happened in my house this week. 

I turned on my Samsung TV - a once top-of-the-range SMART television bought when most people didn't know what SMART was or did - and it seems its life is over. 

Midway through several Netflix series, I went to the familiar icon and pressed enter and it seems we have been hit by one of the most annoying and unnecessary things in modern-day life - tech obsolescence. 

The only good thing is that thankfully this did not happen during Baby Reindeer as we watched all that series in two days, it's so gripping, a definite must-watch. 

As a family we have faced and overcome many tech traumas. We recently overcame Netflix's crackdown on sharing passwords, and was cajoled into signing up and paying for our own account. We have also just got over the shock that Netflix is now going to be costing more than £10 per month.  

Hampshire Chronicle: The message of doom and Kimberley Barber

However, Netflix, this latest set back might be a step too far. Up flashed the notice that Netflix is no longer available on this device. Our model has been consigned to the scrapheap. 

Yes it still works for normal TV, we can get the traditional channels, and its seems BBC iPlayer has not yet caught up with Netflix's desire to march onwards, nor has Amazon Prime, but it will only be a matter of time before they all start dropping like flies. 

My son, who was also into several series on Netflix, does not understand normal TV. He'll often shout 'pause it' as he runs out the room to get something. 

Long gone are the days of shouting 'it's starting' that I remember so well from my childhood. The mad rush to finish what you were doing to get to the opening credits of Gladiators.... It taught me a few lessons about time keeping, that's for sure. 

But back to the point, making our TV - a perfectly good, right-sized for its spot, functioning TV - useless is maddening.

It's also not the first time we have been hit by tech obsolescence. Apple - arguably one of the biggest offenders of this practice - forced me to shell out for a new iPad as my existing one could not support the apps my school's primary school had asked him to download. He's six. What kind of super operating system is needed to run an app that helps him learn his times tables? 

Luckily, both me and my other half are employed, and can afford these tech upsets, but this level of comfort has not always been present in my life. And I am sure it's not present in many people's lives right now, with the cost of living soaring, supermarkets putting up their prices, bills going through the roof, mortgages rising and wages not matching inflation. That's not to mention how extortionately expensive childcare can be for young families. 

But was this latest move form Netflix necessary? There are many arguments that up to date tech is needed to prevent hacking or cyber attacks. 

Some might say that tech obsolescence is planned by tech companies, in order to keep profits rolling in. The tech companies argue that the constant turn over is good for them and the consumer as it enables them to drive prices down, making tech affordable for all, by creating a vibrant market for it. 

In my view, this practice needs revisiting and companies need to be targeted on lifespan, if not to keep families like mine happy, but to reduce unnecessary waste. 

There is an old saying “They don’t make ‘em like they used to.” There seems to be no pride in making a product to last anymore. 

In Livermore, California, there is a light in a fire station that was first switched on 1901 and has only been turned off a few brief times since. It is the oldest known continuously operating light bulb.

Now if someone could make tech in 1901 that could last for 123 years, surely today's modern tech giants could make something that lasts a little longer than a few years.