To be more specific, I've recently had new computer fever for a laptop with pen support because I imagine myself creating computer art. But the reality is that if I give myself permission to make art, I'd rather be making physical art not spending additional time sitting at the computer...and spend some meaningful fraction of a thousand bucks toward doing so.
To put it another way, shopping for the props of an activity is more socially acceptable than doing the activity. A large part of the social acceptability is how efficient shopping for a new computer is relative to the tasks that a person does on the computer. A few minutes ordering online versus days, weeks, months and years writing a program. "I bought a new computer" is an excuse for not using the one I have. I can spend my time setting the new computer up instead of creating something and setting up the new computer is arguably "meaningful progress" though in reality it's make-work.