Tech Backlash Grows as Investors Press Apple to Act on Children’s Use

How about parents start parenting? Get your children involved in activities oh I don't know like sports, music I mean play a real instrument, and oh no boy scouts or girl scouts and make them socialize with other children. Get them off of the phone, no social media, no video games just I don't talking and physical interacting with real people.

Please don't talk to me about tech. Let's talk about TV. When I was a kid in the '60s, a whole lot of concern about the amount of time youngsters sat "glued" to the tube. As in one screen. That you couldn't take with you. Three networks. It did not escaped my notice when such concern slipped utterly out of fashion. Because it is all up to the parents. Weigh if you can the difference between fearing your child is too absorbed by television compared to fearing you forgot to bring a tablet for your child to make sure they'll be quiet and leave you alone. I cringed when carmakers began installing videoscreens for the back seat to keep the kids from getting into their parents' hair. My parents and I used to sing in the car when I was little. Anybody feel what I'm saying?

Here's an idea, don't buy Apple products or give them to your children. Parents giving their young kids i-phones is ridiculous. And using them as pacifiers for babies is even worse.

I teach high school. We have strict policies about having phones out in class and they are enforced. They are not supposed to have them out on the table. But one is constantly on phone patrol. They become anxious when they can't see it; boys and girls alike. The anxiety about it is distracting to them and it does have features of addiction. One of the worst aspects of the problem is unseen. They are often tired and will freely admit that they spend hours on it during the night.I don't understand why their parents don't sequester it at bedtime. I don't understand how they pay the bills for the enormous amount of time spent on the phone. It is changing the way that they are able or rather, unable, to learn. Sustained critical thinking is not something that they practice willingly. But we keep trying. The phone is so entertaining and the instant that they are bored they can find something else. Part of preparing for adult work and/or higher education is forming the habit of working through frustration, tedium, dry material as a part of training for success. The phone trains for the opposite. I am so relieved to hear people talking about this. Because I had begun to think that everyone had been assimilated by the borg.

Ultimately, this is an unfair battle. It's not that Google or Apple or Facebook are bad inherently that they have developed addictive products - it is because they are all amazing smart students of the very best research on what drives human behavior. And they have all applied all that learning to make it a non-conscious process. Of course, we as individuals and as parents can all moderate behavior, but it isn't a fair fight. We are not all experts in behavior design as these companies and their peers are. They all learn from the experts, and apply the state of the art in research. By being experts in behavior design - Apple, Google, Facebook and their peers create tools that trigger specific behaviors in us all - this is why we all open up the devices again and again as specific design elements trigger specific neurological and physiological reactions. Placing a warning on the devices isn't going to help. If you really want to have these companies change how these devices, these software platforms impact people, it is going to be a far deeper redesign. Is such a redesign even possible now? How do you, as a company, work to make your product less appealing? It takes radical steps to insulate oneself from the power of their design. The very best way is to delay or stop adoption in the first place. But, in fact, this is what many of the designers are doing. They themselves are just stopping their children from even trying the fruits of their labors.

Tech backlash AKA bad parenting.

Apple touts their parental controls, yet there is no way to get an iOS device to simply lock after an allotted time for a child account. Thus, parents have to wrangle the device out of their wild eyed screen addicted children at the end of every session. Year in, year out. It's so much work. Why don't they give parents this important control? My guess is because they want to keep our kids using the device for as long as possible.

Apple's parental controls are abysmal. What's needed is an easy-to-use mechanism to limit the amount of time kids (and adults) spend on any given app. Just as substance abusers take meds to cut the craving for drugs, so we digital addicts need controls to curb potentially endless screen time. It's unrealistic to expect parents always to be there to remind kids to disconnect from the screen. We grown-ups can't even police our own usage.

Funny how these devices and their apps are marketed to make you feel godlike, with the whole world at your beckon but ended up creating a world of hunchbacked recluses with hideously hypertrophied thumbs, incapable of conducting even a rudimentary conversation. We can't depend upon these companies to address the issue on their own and their financial clout in Washington makes it that much more difficult. I wish I had a nickel for every time Mark Zuckerberg pledged to be more thoughtful. If I did, I'd be as rich as, well, Mark Zuckerberg.

There is a concept called responsibility. Adults need it, and we need to teach it to children. We live in a world of technology and choices. Technology serves many positive purposes in society. Let’s not forget that technology allow many with disabilities to participate in society. They are tools for communication. They are access to information. They can stimulate thinking as much as they can stunt it. They provide many opportunities for studying outside the confines of classrooms. They allow for virtual labs, tours, and experiences that many students might never experience otherwise. They allow for work outside offices. They allow for self-employment and empowerment. Blaming technology for lack of critical thinking and problems in society is lazy thinking. Yes, technology can be used irresponsibility. Yes, software and social media can be exploitive. It is incumbent on all of us who use technology to consider our choices and our responsibilities rather than blame the technology alone. Next time you see a child with an iPad, think about all the positive possibilities before you judge. Do you know whether she needs it to communicate? Do you know if it helps that person with anxiety? Do you know if that person is working? Technology is a tool. Consider how you and your family use it and make changes as needed for responsible use. Stop waiting for others to fix problems that you can fix and stop pushing your issues onto others.

I used to have trust in and good feelings about Apple, and promoted their products to my friends and family. I thought Apple as a company as well as its products were better than PCs. Now with this issue, but even more the fact that they deliberately slowed down older model phones to get people to buy new ones, I have lost my trust and faith in the company. If another company comes along with a better or equal products, I am now interested. I thought Apple was different. Et tu Apple? Just like Comcast or Verizon, trying to squeeze every last buck out of the customer without good faith. Yuck

I see nothing but a one-sided argument. This article and the investors who provoked it are long on generalities and short on specifics, and that is called "self-serving." Apple products (and other manufacturers, I presume) already have plenty of methods for parents to restrict children's usage. But many parents call these devices "baby-sitters" in the same way that many parents use TV. So the question is, 'who is responsible?' Portable electronics have change all forms of communication. If these investors are so concerned, how are they operating their own businesses? Perhaps they should provide some insight instead of just provoking interest in themselves.

Simple solution: take the device away. Why do you need Apple for that?

"Once uncritically hailed for their innovation and economic success, Silicon Valley companies are under fire from all sides, facing calls to take more responsibility for their role in everything from election meddling and hate speech to physical health and internet addiction." YOU in the news media uncritically hailed the innovation and economic 'success." Some of us actually knew what was really going on.

I've never understood the attraction of the iPhone or android. All around me people stare at these devices, even when walking. I guess I have an old brain that doesn't learn new tricks. Oops, gotta go... raid forming for Utgarde Pinnacle.

I doubt that any teenager could give me one good reason why they need a smartphone. There must be a lot of terribly weak parents on this planet.

I share the concern, but are there any investigations of what they are watching, asking, investigating?? When I was young there was a concern with too much television---which in my view limits public introspection. Perhaps the young are interacting with their distant cousins, websites that answer questions for their next class exams. My hope is that they are asking questions!!

I would like technology to encourage a novel concept nowadays, which is to require young people to interact with one another face to face, instead of screen to screen. For the vast majority, enduring relationships are based on individuals having maximum opportunity to read, hear and smell those on the other side of the table.

It's a false comparison - having a role in enabling destructive political propaganda is much different than "kids might be using your product in way we fear maybe isn't great ." Holding apple accountable for that is like saying TV is bad for kids and Sony or Samsung should do something about it.

This sounds very much like what my grandparents said about the telephone and what my parents said about Elvis. Then it was the effects of television. Each generation creates new past times, with consequences of some time.

The best tool parents can use to fight device addiction? Removal of said device from their child. Not every problem needs a technological solution.

How many kinds of apples are in the garden of Eden? Let’s walk past the salad bar at the grocery store and buy lunch meat and cheese. Or not go to the gym and instead stay home and watch mediocre TV. After all, well over half the U.S. population is over-fed and under-read so you can be comfortable as an average member of the herd. Now the nannies want to blame the iPhone and Cap’tn Crunch for our expanding waists and shrunken vocabularies. Boy, the American Dream succeeded all too well.

It is a shame that we have have these large tech companies directing pour children's lives. If only we could create some type of social structure or unit that could provide guidance, control and education for our young people. This social unit could live in the same house as the kids, the unit could limit the types and length of interaction with these tech devices and the kids could give the social unit cute names like mom and dad. Alas - we live in a Blade Runner dystopia where these units have disappeared. "Perhaps it takes courage to raise children." ~ John Steinbeck, East of Eden

Back in the sixties and seventies there were kids who talked for hours on the phone. Never thought was Ma Bell's fault.

Apple and Google need to improve parental controls on phones and tablets. The list of studies chronicling how bad this is for kids and teenagers is growing - and there is nothing suggesting that device usage is in any form helpful. It’s not just inappropriate content we want to limit as parents, but time on the apps, the internet and these devices. I’ve resorted to reducing my kids data plans to 100MB and completely cutting off the Internet for my kids between 3-8pm every weekday. You can imagine how popular I am. And though they now leave the house more often, I fear it is only to search for a wifi signal). Proper parental controls over these devices is long overdue and big kudos to these investors for taking a stand to make the vendors more responsible.

Parents, lay down your own devices, and monitor your child. If you don't want that responsibility, then stop whining or don't have children.

As a new parent with a 7-month at home who is already being drawn to those pretty screens which seem to be Everywhere now - I would greatly appreciate more control and more importantly, more transparency from tech companies about how data is collected and content is delivered. I have great concerns about the "addictive" qualities of tech and would love if someone like Apple would get out in front of this issue - it will take another 10 years before Washington even begins to move on this front. Sadly, the private sector will need to lead the charge.

Learn to live with this people, the tech genie is out of the bottle and it cannot be put back in no matter how many hedge or pension funds try. Before cell phones, there was the computer and before that the TV. I am sure when the talkies came around, the old fogies were outraged that the young people spent their time whiling away instead of doing something useful like defending the empire against the fascists or the communists.

I must admit, I have no idea what technology my kids may be addicted to as I am generally too busy replying to NYT articles in the hopes of gaining recognition, adulation, and approval among other complete strangers within this so called “community.”

So dumb; why not blame the cable companies for the kids watching too much TV or the grocery stores and fast foods for the obesity epidemic? Ever heard of individual responsibility? More appropriately, FaceBook should be renamed FakeBook.

To claim this is a corporate problem is absurd. This, if it is a problem, is for parents to solve.

I am glad to see that the conversation is starting. At the very least, we need to talk about what these devices are doing to our youth and society at large. Anecdotally, I have noticed a precipitous drop in leisure reading, physical activity, interest in musical instruments and family interaction since my three children began using devices. I have no doubt that it (Snapchat, Instagram, etc.) has dimmed their curiosity, adversely affected their attention spans, and lowered their IQ points as well. Parents are only part of the solution - we are all broken records on this issue, and it is a constant source of arguments. We take the phones away, they use something else. Imagine, as a society, what could be accomplished if the time currently spent on this drivel were spent on substantive pursuits?

Whatever happened to "parental control"? Why blame Apple for children becoming "addicted" to their I pad or smart phone? If kids spent more time actually playing outside or (gasp) reading a print book, I doubt if parents would even have a problem at all.

For heaven's sake--IT'S ABOUT TIME THIS CONVERSATION STARTED. For every parent who is happy to give their kids devices to "keep them occupied" there are twenty who are baffled by the ubiquity of such devices and frustrated by the lack of control that is hard-wired into how they function. Families and educators desperately need more built-in tools to encourage responsible use of technology for their kids (and for themselves). Yes, Apple is just the poster child for an entire industry that has been allowed to devise intentionally addictive games and devices with sadly little oversight from those who should be minding the store. Instead of banging the drum to teach our kids to "code" (whatever that will actually mean when they grow up) how about providing built-in time-out features, options to program games into segments instead of seamless streams, visual and audio prompts, easier settings controls... and whatever else the actual manufacturers could devise if they actually cared about the welfare of their customers and the true quality of their products. Unfortunately, the trend in our national regulatory environment is headed the opposite direction. But don't let that stop us. Yes I've got computer and internet, but I don't have an I-Phone, tablet or "smart device." And I will never get any of them until a device appears that gives me and my family the appropriate controls we need. Some things are too precious and many more things are not worth buying.

Do parents not know how to take away their minor children’s devices and lock them in a cabinet? Who’s the parent, them or Apple?

All these gadgets, and Apple's not alone, will be the major causes of early brain death, in the twenty first century! And I don't exclude myself from that! I hope and pray there will be a sincere effort to save the children, but be warned the advertising agencies of the gadget makers are very, very slick! We are already beyond the Human Persuaders!!!

Anyone who has seen a young child totally engaged by his or her screen and not aware of anything else going on around them knows that this can't be good for the child of for society in general.

Honestly, this article’s premise is ridiculous. I have two children, 8 and 5. They aren’t addicted to technology because they don’t have access to technology. The only time they get handed a phone or iPad is when we are on a plane or long road trip or when I have to take them somewhere and am not available to them (e.g. on the rare occasion they accompany me to the dentist or something). When they do get an iPad or phone, they don’t have internet access. Only access to pbs kids and a few games my husband and I have selected. Otherwise, they don’t have access to technology. Period. Yes, it would be much easier to give them a phone sometimes. Yes, my daughter is already whining that some of her friends have phones and/or iPads. I don’t care. Nor will I. This is not hard. There is absolutely no reason for a child to have a phone or tablet of their own or access to one on a daily basis. My kids have puzzles, game books (mazes, dot to dots etc), books, Legos etc. If they are bored, I’m always happy to find a chore for them to do. It’s not my job to make sure they are cool and have what their friends have. It’s my job to make sure they are safe and healthy and grow into kind, intelligent adults. Technology is not necessary for any of that. People have got to start taking responsibility for their own actions and decisions.

Congress needs to start thinking about children. They should make tech companies post this on devices: WARNING: THE SURGEON GENERAL HAS DETERMINED THAT SCREEN TIME IS DANGEROUS TO YOUR HEALTH.

I tried most of the software out there. Even ignoring the bugs and limitations, the software is poorly designed. The software is dumb. It requires parents to micro manage every app every minute of the day. So managing the screen time is a full time job. They need software that put constraints on screen time by total time per day and per week. One should be able to set limits per app or per device or even across multiple devices.

The problem with Apple is they are a "push" company. Essentially a bully that constantly pushes, yet restricts the consumer from pushing back (ie innovating the very device they bought). Apple masks these defects of human instinct by constantly changing the features so the consumer has no time to reflect. At its essence is control. Which is authoritative. Which is evil in this case because it benefits no one except the corporation.

One word to solve this... parents.

I'm really beginning to feel like all these companies care about is money...

I have no doubt that Apple engineers their products to take advantage of compulsive human tendencies. For that reason alone they cannot be trusted to police themselves. But I think the real criminals are the social media companies. Apple at least designs hardware that can be used to solve real problems. Facebook, for all it's high-minded talk of global community, only seeks to exploit human vanities for profit. Zuckerberg, his company, and so many others that have spawned in Facebook's wake make the shadiest used car salesman look good. What a bunch of liars.

The truth of the matter is that we have all been dazzled by our phones, to our universal detriment, but once you see your kids in that same hypnotized state, you begin to realize truly how damaging it can be. That said, the cure is not with the manufacturers of the phones or the software they run. As a society we need to place a social cost on excessive phone use (my kids call it "phone-facing," as in, "Mom, please stop phone-facing") by calling it out. At home, parents need to lead the charge and stop staring at their phones all the time (we have begun putting ours on a shelf when we come home, to avoid the temptation). At the restaurant, we need to avoid (and encourage others to avoid) the temptation of letting our children disappear into a phone so that we can freely chat. Lead by example and call out those who continue to be nose-deep. Only when excessively staring at a screens is consider gauche (I imagine soon it will be considered "low class") will we break the spell they've cast over us all.

"Once uncritically hailed for their innovation and economic success, Silicon Valley companies are under fire from all sides, facing calls to take more responsibility for their role in everything from election meddling and hate speech to physical health and internet addiction." Hmm -- Once uncritically hailed for their innovation and economic success, automobile manufacturer's are under fire from all sides, facing calls to take more responsibility for their role in everything from highways intruding on small rural communities and toll roads, to teenage pregnancy and injuries due to traffic accidents. or - Once uncritically hailed for their innovation and economic success, television broadcasting companies are under fire from all sides, facing calls to take more responsibility for their role in everything from election meddling by promoting popular celebrities as possible presidential candidates and encouraging hate speech, to physical health and binge-watching addiction. So the question is - who's to blame...?

It’s beyond explanation to blame/attack Apple over the use of phones. We may as well blame TV makers like Samsung or Vizio for society’s couch potatoes. If you have small kids, like I do, you know countless parents who are all too happy to give their toddlers and kids gadgets to keep them occupied. Jana and Calstrs should target the makers of Candy Crush or Minecraft or Twitter well before going after the phone makers.

Apple stated: "...we think deeply about how our products are used and the impact they have on users and the people around them. We take this responsibility very seriously and we are committed to meeting and exceeding our customers’ expectations, especially when it comes to protecting kids.” Apple's statement about how their products are used, and most amazingly about the impact they have on others around said users (think about the next person that comes to a dead stop in front of you to look down at their iPhone) exemplifies a major the flaw with modern consumer technology. And I state this as an engineer and former software developer: They cannot 'exceed' my expectations because they don't really know what my expectations are nor in what dimension they should be exceeded. This hubris and arrogance that is built into their products is what makes gentle little old ladies blaspheme and rational people want to throw their iPads at the wall.

First, lets be careful how we use the word "addictive." These devices do not create chemical dependency the way narcotics do. Use of these devices is voluntary and a matter of personal choice, and adults should be free to partake of social media and to play with iPhones as much as they like, except perhaps while driving. Second, lets differentiate children and adults. Kids do use these device and services too freely. It's reasonable for the government to require that parents be given the tools necessary to regulate the amount of time their children use smartphones and and social media. This is similar to the v-chips all televisions are required to have. Finally, though adults should be free to waste as much time as they like, it's clear many choose to spend way to much time, to the detriment of their occupations and their personal lives. Personal lives are indiviiduals' own business, but employers should be free to restrict smartphone social media use while on the job, without stigma. Many young adults spend fortunes to attend college, but then pay too little attention to their studies, and too much to their cell phones. It behooves schools to maintain the standards that underlie the degrees they award, through examinations and measures of in class participation. Employers should be free to test prospective employees to be sure that candidates' sills extend beyond awareness of how to post on Facebook. Many employers do just this. Job seekers, be aware.

Let's pick on Apple. How about Google (Android - widest adopted phone OS and tons of ads) or Samsung (largest seller of phones). Oh no, let's pick on Apple because they are so wicked. It is all their fault. Let's not assume it could be the parents fault for not supervising their own kids' usage. Oh no, let's go after Apple. Just like cartoons promote violence. Ignore the wide spread availability of guns and drugs. No, let's blame a corporation for society's ills and duck anything smacking of parental responsibility.

Good luck Mr. Zuckerberg. You are giving yourself a year to undo what it took 20 years of design specific to the frailties of human nature to create.

This is great news! We have been giving our children devices that have increased anxiety, depression, vapidness, etc - with nary a thought or debate. Very glad to see the tide beginning to turn and kudos to these advocates for such socially conscious investment. But let’s make this a bottom up movement as well. Parents, question your children’s principals and teachers use of ‘smart’ devices and computers. And be brave! Don’t give your child one. We need an unofficial national standard for when someone gets one. Perhaps they can buy one with their first summer job paycheck! This was written from my desktop computer.

In 1998, I purchased my first computer, a blueberry iMac. I was so excited and filled with optimism about the future. Twenty years later, my experiences with the greed, incompetence and shallowness of the tech world have filled me with disappointment, disillusionment and rage. Given the current state of this increasingly rancid world, I don't even wish to see another twenty years.

Are experts and tech geniuses really shocked that tech devices are addictive? Does anybody remember the Pac-Man rage? Pinball machines? Slot Machines? Video game playing that has addicted both children and adults? The millions hooked on Facebook and ( the President) hooked on Twitter? Pandora's lethal box has been opened. Lotsaluck stuffing it back inside. How much time is really "well spent" on tech devices and programs? How many using these devices are also hooked on "speed"? The ever-increasing Speed In The Machines, where a few second delay can cause frustration, anger, screams and tears? Maybe, to echo a recent call from High Hollywood, "Time's up." It's long past time for "Time Out." Doug Giebel, Big Sandy, Montana

This is an relevant and immense issue. As a Baby Boomer, we might have the best insight on this problem. Having lived both before and after the great computer revolution, we have experienced thinking and behaving in ways before and after the new technology affected us. Make no mistake about it, though, the effect is huge. Interaction and communication is changing on a grand scale before our eyes. Personally, as an English Major from long ago, the deterioration of critical thinking based on long attention span reading and analysis is disappearing. This is more than simply the decrying of "young people today." This is a shift in the personality of a population. Standing in line for a coffee or such, I often stop myself from checking something on my phone just to spend time observing my surroundings. I wonder about the neck health of my fellow citizens, bent over for hours a day. I also wonder if pick-pocketing has increased; it would appear that we are now distracting ourselves so thoroughly that it's a wonder we're not being constantly robbed! Of course, the most valuable thing we may own may be what we're staring at to distract us.

We can't rely on the companies that created this technology to make us less dependent on it. Each of us has to take a hard look at our technology habits - and they are indeed habits, that can be broken - and figure out how to change. If you use a smartphone, use it less. If you're on social media, reduce the time you spend on it and/or the number of sites you use. Choose to spend your time on more meaningful pursuits. Make an effort to see friends in person. You'll probably find that you won't miss the time you spent online.

While they're at it, they could demand that Apple and other hardware makers design keyboards that don't cause Repetitive Strain Injury. A couple of decades ago Apple lobbyists blocked California legislation that would have made them liable for the injuries caused by their keyboards. The square flat grid keyboard causes painful career-ending injuries, but as with all software, its makers have been able to load all the costs of avoidable injury onto us users.

Kids misusing smartphones. Isn't this really the responsibility of the parents? This is easily preventable. Don't get a smartphone for you kid, or get one that restricts where it can go and the time spent on it. If a kid takes a car to some crazy, untoward place is it the automakers responsibility if harm ensues?

My iPhone made me do it.