Is Modern Technology (Phones, Laptops, Touchscreens Etc)

Yes it is deliberate, and I don't mind.

I inherited a 1974 Bang & Olufsen TV from my parents. It was so well-made, that it lasted until 2004 - thirty years. As a point of principle, I will not get rid of something if it still works (unless I can sell it), as that would be a waste, so I kept it all that time.

The down-side was that a TV from 1974 does only one thing - shows terrestrial channels on an old cathode ray tube screen.

So, due to the excellent quality of the TV, I missed out on a decade or two of TV advances (LCD, wide screen, freeview, etc etc).

Hence, I don't mind if stuff has a shelf-life.

Anyway, only certain parts of an item fail, usually the battery. When you trade it in, they refresh it and send it off to Africa, so it does last longer than you think.

Yes, they're made cheaply with cheap materials, tin and white metal (Chinesium) The process has improved dramatically (machining) but the materials are junk designed to fail.

I have an air conditioner and a washing machine both over 25 years old. Built like tanks and work perfectly.

Washing machines, for example, the components and main bearing is white metal - it will last a few years before it fails.

The main bearing on my washing machine is made from case hardened steel. They don't make them like that anymore - maybe for industrial coin laundry, I don't know.

But now it's a disposable society. Get a new "phone" every few years and throw the old one away.