Bring back Blackberries. Problem solved.
3
I was out at a birthday dinner on Saturday night. When I looked around the room there were numerous people typing into their phones, possibly talking on social media. Well all you need to do is turn to the person next to you and talk if you crave social interaction!
5
Turn off notifications on your apps. I only allow email and texts. It's called self-control and common sense.
8
This article has good intentions but succumbs to fanboy-ism and blind devotion to Apple as the savior of our tech woes. Firstly, I am baffled that Farhad is clueless of some of the advanced features already present in Android that do some of the things he suggests. For instance, Android has introduced notification categories in the Oreo update which basically allows apps to create different categories for different kinds of notifications from the app. And you can change the priority of these categories manually and the app cannot override them. So, if some types of notifications are useless for you, BAM! You can disable them.
But oh no! Only if Apple implements this feature will he deem it innovative and then condescendingly claim that others "just copied" Apple!
Anyway, coming back to the actual point of the article: I think it is a valiant idea to help make phones less addictive. But perhaps its is also more to do with the people than the gadgets. For instance, I have a smartphone, but I hardly use it beyond reading things while commuting and reading some emails/taking some calls and texting. You should be in control of yourself, first and foremost, to avoid getting addicted.
2
Nanny State? Personal responsibility, self-discipline?
Notice, there's no solution concerning character development, time management, self-control?
That's because in the 21st century, victim-hood is in the norm. The pervasive message is you are helpless driftwood, subject to the rushing currents of marketing, corporations, and institutions.
Imagine if you could go back in time just a few decades ago and show someone this article. The first thing they would say is, "This electronic invention of the future; it doesn't have an 'off' button?
3
Well personally myself I bought my last I phone with the Iphone 7.
Especially after all these battery issues!
I felt like a fool when I paid 700$ for the 7 and I am in no way considering an 8! Especially at the prices they are talking!
Hello Galaxy!
2
Everyone I talked to that had an iphone, any off them, thinks it's a piece of garbage. The way it work sis awful, buttons, navigation, etc, everything is done better on an android. Smartphones were around before apple built the first iphone, its just that phone makes were stupid enough to follow the deletion of any kinds of buttons on the phone. Which is causing more problems, traffic accidents, etc. Next thing you know, apple is going to make a phone with a physical keyboard and revolutionize the world. Its not the iphone, I think apple users are just the problem
1
This is about like asking beer companies to give us just the right amount of alcohol. I need at least 4% but certainly no higher than 6.5. Ok maybe just one 7% won't hurt.
1
I don't understand all the comments who are saying this should not be up to companies, and we should all just be more responsible for our actions. Yes, perhaps we should, and I personally constantly keep my smartphone in "do not disturb", but to dismiss this problem so strikes me as extremely myopic.
I am in my mid-20s. I cannot tell you how often, when talking to friends, they switch their attention to their phones the moment there is a lull in the conversation, especially if they get a notification. Twitter. Instagram. Snapchat. You name it, all of them stimulate you more than a moment of silence. I have a friend who cannot get through a meal without checking his phone.
It's not just a problem that afflicts my generation. My mother, who, as mothers tend to be, is much older than me, and was much older than I am now when smartphones first hit the market. is now practically attached to her iPhone. We live in different countries, and see each other only a few times a year. Yet every time I am with her for prolonged periods of time, I am struck by how often she checks her phone. When I ask her why checking her phone is so important, she defends herself. "Oh, so and so commented on my picture." "Oh, I just got a like on a post." And so on. She cannot watch a movie start to end without checking her phone, and yet she lived without smartphones 2/3 of her life.
It is an addiction, and our society has clearly succumbed to it. So, yes, perhaps those who got us addicted can help.
5
Apple has already done something to reduce the time spent on devices. It's called "the latest update"
3
It's not just Apple, why is this targeted at Apple? Tech addiction happens on Samsung, LG, Huewei, Nokia phones, etc too. If it wasn't for Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Streaming Music, Snapchat, camera apps for selfies, etc, etc the list goes on and on...we wouldn't be glued to the phone 24x7 for instant gratification. Need to control oneself and put the phone down to give yourself a break, and that's on YOU to do that. I'm addicted to chocolate but I'm not telling Hershey's it's their fault.
2
If you think the phone is a TECH addiction, you don't understand what's going on right out of the starting gate.
It's an addiction to being SOCIAL. It's a desperate need to know everyone's business and to have people give you enough feedback that you can trick yourself into believing hundreds or thousands of people are paying attention to you.
The addicts aren't addicted to the technology..they're addicted to the social behavior. If you make a phone that in ANY way blocks that addiction, the addicts will buy a different phone.
5
I have a feeling that the technological solution to this problem (if possible at all) would capitalize on the very nature of the said problem. Maybe a new sensor in the Apple Watch 3 to keep track of (and share) your "off" time? An AI-powered cloud service that optimizes your productive time, for a small fee of $9.99 a month? All sold by a series of ads, with Christy Turlington meditating next to her phone set to a "centering", "detox", or "organic" mode? Make it sexy — it will sell, unlike all that nagging about personal responsibility.
1
Long winded blowbag. More concern about "money making evil large companies ruling our lives" Operative phrase "our lives" Remember when TV was the "evil force threatening to rob our children of their incentive and intellect"? Result, less TV more iPhone. There will ALWAYS be a force attempting to distort our kids sense of proportion. That's what parents are supposed to be for. Given time families should be able to sort out the nuances of properly managing their etime. Legislation, guidelines, restrictions, and dumber equipment is NOT the answer. Another misguided liberal trying to "solve all of our problems for us".
How about a little self-control people? Addiction is tough to manage (alcohol, drugs, food, sex) but prohibition is not the answer.
3
On my Android phone, almost all of my apps give me a fairly good amount of granularity to the notification settings already.
If an app doesn't, I simply disable all notifications from it.
I only get 'buzzed' 10-15 times a day, and most of those are from the NYT app.
3
10-15 times a day?
And you think this is normal or healthy. Most people work a 9-5 and get home around 6. If you want your proper 8 hours of rest, that means you should be in bed not later than midnight. If you want proper sleep, that means electronics should be off by 11... that leaves you between the hours of 6-11, 5 hours, and that's being generous as I'm not including dinner. that means you're getting notifications equivalent to 2-3 times per hour... that's equivalent of a buzz every 20 minutes. You're brain isn't going more than 20-30 minutes without some form of reminded from your phone. And you think this is something to be proud or happy about?
Some people spend entire days with their phones off, or not on them. Some people will leave their apartment without their phone, turn it off all together for hours at a time. And yes, I get these 10-15 buzzes a day might come while you're at work or with other people, but that's just a whole other issue if you're the type of person who feels like they need to check their phones when they are with other people or you take breaks at work to check your phone.
Just think about it for a second.
3
One reason I bought an Apple watch is that it kept my phone in my pocket. It does that very effectively and I spend much less time on devices (including both combined). Talking to Apple store employees, they said the same thing. Works for me.
3
Why on earth would Apple change what they are doing? They're in the business of selling smartphones. If your teenage kid walks down the street with his/her eyes glued to the phone, texting nonsense to their friends and oblivious to where they are walking, that's the parents' fault not Apple's.
2
Agreed, Come on people, take responsibility for yourselves.
2
It seems to me that Apple could make its iPhone with a parental control code feature so that using that code, parents could activate or deactivate features and set hours which they choose to allow kids to use the phones or particular features. For example, phone only use, possibly with limited phone numbers kids could use during school hours. During school hours or homework hours, kids could dial their home number, parents' cell numbers, 911, etc. Just a thought.
1
Its not all kids, you know. And Apple is defenitely not the only smartphone company out there; you can get your kid an Android & lock it on a minimalist, simplistic launcher that does everything you stated. Unless, of course, you are addicted to the iPhone, not the smartphone.
1
Farhad, you being a seasoned tech writer, this is just about the most nonsensical column you have ever written.
Instead of advancing the usual rebuttals I have advanced elsewhere when JANA and CalSTRS came out with their letter to Apple, let me put it in a slightly different way. Remember the old joke about beer bellied dads channel surfing aimlessly. Your mobile phone (iPhone or Android) is now the old TV remote. And TV remote is hardly a great product but TV addicts wear it out anyway. Is it about the remote? Or the TV content? Channel surfing is a mind numbing activity. Making a flimsier remote or lousier TV shows don't stop people from channel surfing, how is Apple (never mind the two instigators ignored the fact there are a lot more Android phones out there) is going to fix people's psychology?
1
I'm with you. People need to take accountability for themselves. This pointing fingers and blaming other people for how we spend our time doesn't work. No one is forcing these people to upgrade their iphones every 6 months. That's their own doing cuz they care more about what other people will think of them than they do about what they think of themselves. I mean don't get me wrong, most of these same people are so self absorbed, but that's another discussion.
My phone is from 2014 and it works fine. I could text people. I could call people. I could even look up articles like these. I don't want to spend more time (or money) on my phone. The only reason I got this phone is cuz my last one got stolen when I was mugged a while back. My previous phone might have been from the prior decade. Meanwhile I know a guy who's trading in and getting new phones every 4-6 months. Oh man, did you see the new samsung xxvi.... I'm getting that when it comes out (while opening the box to his new Iphone xxxvi).
The fucking waste of money, time, I don't even know what else.
1
The word "addictive" predicts the result of the "thinking." We like hauling little communicator-computers in our pockets, thank you. It's very useful. As for its effect on children, some of our children will have attitude problems, some will be delinquent, some obsessive-- and there is absolutely nothing to say that smartphones are the cause. Since time immemorial, we have disapproved of what the young do. Just in my memory, there was a campaign against comic books, TV, jitterbugging, soda shops, you name it. People like their smartphones. The moment I start to get withdrawal symptoms, shakes, turning hot and cold, nauseous, making me so miserable so I have to go out in the street and find a guy who will sell me any old iPhone, even a 5, man, then I will say, "That Farhad Manjoo, he had a point." Otherwise, you've just learned how to do the Times Tut-Tut.
1
Technical changes aren't going to help what at its core is a social/cultural problem that starts with how kids are indoctrinated into the idea that they need to be on their phones constantly to be part of their peer group.
I remember being startled when driving through a neighborhood in Seattle a few years ago, when I noticed kids getting out of school at the local high school and talking with each other, goofing around, and notably not tuned out on their phones. Somehow that local group of kids found it more compelling to interact with each other than constantly texting.
I think we need to raise kids to understand the appropriate role of tech in their lives. There are many things phones are great for, but it also makes sense to put them away and be present at the dinner table, focus in the classroom, or simply enjoy some alone time without feeling the constant need to respond instantly.
What if enough parents in one neighborhood got together and insisted that the local middle school disallow kids from bringing phones to school, and the parents also insisted that kids not bring them out at the dinner table, etc.? The kids would surely revolt, but maybe over time they'd start to see how to bring tech into a reasonable balance in their lives. I've heard many stories of kids who were disallowed from bringing phones to summer camp, and later said how it was a relief.
8
I agree with the expressed sentiments of parental oversight and restraint. However, after raising a teenager of my own to adulthood over the last near two decades, I can attest the modern teenager is a far sneakier, more manipulative beast than my peers and I were when we were growing up. Note, I was a stay-at-home parent with no other employment so my stepson got my full attention; my Husband was the breadwinner. My stepson found every way possible (and a few his father and I hadn’t considered) to get around whatever controls we tried to put in place limiting his use of technology (even going so far as faking the theft of his gaming console from our storage locker in our high-rise so he could secret it in his room for use after we were asleep (he got away with that one for nearly a week). I could go on to tell you all the avenues of attention, governance, and support my husband and I pursued in efforts to parent sensibly and in a highly (by today’s standards) involved way, but that would far exceed 1500 characters, and our end results were mixed at best. I think the days of parenting the way I was raised (with oversight and sensible judgment, allowing limited freedom and space for learning from natural consequences) are numbered if not over entirely because there are simply too many holes in the modern parenting fence, and without following your child around 24/7 it is impossible to close them all.
2
Parents today are forced to choose between their children being socially ostracized for not being allowed to participate fully in the use of popular technology, or allowing participation and then playing a constant game of parental Space Invaders as they struggle to stay two steps ahead of their child’s attempts to circumvent governance. The Genie Of Technology cannot be put back in the bottle, which leaves me struggling to understand what then must be done to balance use of these tricky and potentially damaging tools we’ve created. Is the education system broken? Is the manufacturer to blame? And I’m not even touching on the baffling difficulty some adult technology users seem to have self-regulating their own exposure. I’m not convinced there are easy answers for any of these questions.
3
The more I read the more I thought this article silly. Then I got to the sentence that made me angry. "Tech “addiction” is a topic of rising national concern." Is this a joke? Or mere hyperbole in an attempt to make a silly opinion piece more relevant? Topics of national concern include: healthcare, climate, jobs, poverty, opiates, and others; surely not "my iPhone is so fabulous I can't put it down: help me!"
What's next? An article like "Chocolate Cake is Just TOO Tasty: a National Drive to Make It Less So, To Reduce Obesity and Diabetes"?
9
It is of growing concern in the child psychology field and among social scientists, and many others. To think that continuous reliance on a device that is designed to keep people from interacting directly, and encourage commercially-driven behaviour isn't affecting people at a cognitive level is to think that the hundred billion dollar ad industry is throwing their money away.
Some people are still carrying flip phones because they don't want to use all of the features provided by a modern Smartphone. That's their choice and it's fine. Expecting Apple, or other manufacturers, to make a crippled device to protect users from "addiction" is an odd recommendation except from a neo-Luddite. Encouraging forced nanny-state monitoring of smart phone usage is equally bizarre. If a user doesn't want all of the features, then "just say no" and don't use them. Ultimately, the user has to decide what's appropriate and not a corporation.
7
People need to take responsibility for themselves and their children. No need for Apple or Government to regulate this. In 1986 I was 10 years old and I remember no TV on school nights, and only a few cartoons to watch between the time I got home from school and dad got home from work; then we had dinner as a family and spend the evening outside. We apply the same rules now with my two kids. We give them only an hour of netfix a night and that is it. No youtube kids or any of that garbage. I notice now when visiting friends how both parents will be on their phone, and both kids on their ipads. While they all sit together, no one talks. It is really sad.
5
Such a phone that is less addictive already exists, and is now very modestly priced, with excellent call quality. It is called Blackberry running BB10. Perfect call quality, runs practically no apps, excellent email and texting capabilities, very secure (since no one bothers to write malicious code for it). I'm still using my BB10 phone and recharge it about once every 4 days, since I hardly look at it during the day.
1
Cellular phone abusers have won, I have lost.
I am 70 years old and have not gone to a movie in over 3years, reason, cellular phones.
I stream movies.
I still went to concerts and plays, my thinking was that at 100$'s per ticket adults would not use their phones, and now watches.
On the 6 of October 2016 I went to see the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra at the Balboa Theater in San Diego. A patron next to my wife had to keep checking his watch to see what messages he was receiving. My wife asked him to turn it off, he barked at my wife, I barked at him.
?How Insignificant, Insecure,Unimportant is a person that they have to always check their email, and social accounts?
When the announcement is made to turn off your phones,"TURN OFF YOUR PHONES".
The entertainment industry has to address cellular phones abusers, I am not out there on a limb myself. The industry is loosing money.
I no longer go to shows.
I am also for change the law regarding the use of cellular phones while driving. The use of cellular phone while driving must be treated the same as Driving Under the Influence. It is a crime and not just a traffic violation.
4
I agree and I am in my 30's. It costs about $70 just for tickets to take our kids to a movie and both the adults and other kids can't even get through a 2 hr movie without checking their phone every few minutes. Between the constant glare and sounds of phones and the people who feel it's okay to bring little babies to movies and force the rest of us to listen to them whine and cry, it's more trouble than it's worth. And now that movies are on DVD and on Demand after only a few months, with few exceptions, we wait and watch from the comfort and quiet of our own home, with popcorn that isn't overpriced and stale. For all the benefits, technology has really had a negative impact on social interaction and common courtesy.
3
Studies have shown that phone use while driving is equivalent to a 0.1% blood alcohol level. Hands-free isn't the answer either since you don't communicate with your hands, you communicate with your brain and your brain will focus on the phone call because it requires constant attention. Multi-tasking isn't a good thing while driving a car.
Flashing banner ads and article illustrations that include moving graphics (as found in this article) are far more distracting to me than any app. I want to read the NY Times, so I've no choice but to see the moving graphics here, even though they drive me nuts to look at. But apps on my phone don't appear unless I call them up. My choice. So I guess I'm addicted to the news but not to my phone.
3
Let's not kid ourselves about the likelihood that Apple will favor altruism over economics. While a hopeful piece here, business isn't built by encouraging your users to depend on your products less. And I highly doubt that Apple is unhappy with low battery life - they didn't make it easy to change the batteries in their portable devices.
2
Gee, I guess self-restraint and parental discipline would be too difficult. To a certain extent I feel like smartphones and game systems are really a form of entrapment. My stepson is struggling in school and his mother bought him an iPhone for Christmas, in addition to the Xbox he already has. Someone else bought him a virtual reality headset . He just turned 11. why would you give a child struggling in school all of these distractions? Does she really expect him to exert the self discipline required to give his school work adequate time and attention?
I'm not a Puritan. I remember having a Nintendo when I was a kid, which I was only allowed to play on the weekends after my homework was done. I remember limitations on how much television I could watch on weekdays. I remember not being allowed to use the house phone, (remember those things) after certain time at night.
4
I like the idea of standardized, systemwide notification priority tiers. I would definitely use that instead of having to manually go in and adjust every single app's frequencies. After installing an app, one could assign a notification level to that app and change it later if need be. Easy-peasy.
Ha! while writing this post, Postmates decided to tell me I could get free delivery on Pho until 2pm today - the exact type of notification I then had to go into the app to manually turn off.
Tiered, iOS-wide notification levels based on notification type or app would be an easy counter to over-stimulation, hardly a "nanny" solution at all. Android already offers something along these lines.
Android allows you to set notifications on each app. The only problem is that this is set to On by default, instead of to Off. Very few apps need to send you a notification. When you want to view the app, you just choose to run the app.
Owned an iPhone since just after they first came out and I am not addicted. It is a phone connected to the internet, big whoop.
When the time comes to do work I will take a real computer- it is not even close.
It is real simple people. When you are driving, on a date or at work, put your phone away. Now that wasn't that hard, was it?
10
Just shut the thing off. Which is easy to do after reading nonsense like this.
7
Just listing your ideas show how ridiculous they are. Tech addiction? In your case tech focus is how you earn a living. Parents can control tech use by kids just as they did tv watching.
2
I don’t know about you, Mr. Manjoo, but I’m an adult, and I don’t need the company who produced my phone to slide into nanny territory. I see this as a dangerous slippery slope, the tech bashing that’s been appearing repeatedly lately. Yesterday I read an article where politically opposite factions are both bashing google, saying it presents too much of what the separate factions disagree with. Reality is, google is neutral. It’s a search engine, not an a day-care supervisor.
It’s the same with a cell phone. You bought it. You loaded it with the apps you wanted. You fiddled the settings. Then you gripe because you lack the willpower to lay it down? You blame that company because your kids emulate you with their own cell phones/tablets? Hmm. Who’s the grown-up here? If your answer is forcing a tech company to be that grown-up, that nanny, you’re in trouble. Maybe load the book ‘1984’ onto your Kindle app. Take some responsibility while you can.
6
Read this article through a mine-field of ads and at the end was asked to share it on Facebook, Twitter, email, etc. There is even a check-box for this post which reads “Receive email notifications when comments are published.” It was already pre-checked for me. No irony there. Avoid being connected/addicted? There is no exit ramp. PS. Please don’t thumb this comment up or down.
1
The NYT used to have an excellent tech journalist. The present one lost my interest when he referred to the ipod as "a computing platform".
1
Ms Wood is at Marketplace.
The current guy probably drives with earbuds in his ears while staring at his iPhone.
1
I do not need Apple to be my nanny. What is next? Refrigerators that lock and will not let you extract a third beer?
8
I think I laughed way to hard at that. Your right, Apple was made to build electronics and it should stay that way. Don't be taking things outta its natural habitat
3
Well, I agree. But a cabinet that locked to prevent me from scarfing down more cookies would be helpful. But I'm a grownup and it's my responsibility to exercise some control over activities that are harmful or even that add nothing of value to my life. Except chocolate.
1
Not sure investors would be as gung ho if they saw share prices entire a long term decline or if growth fell back in line with the wider market in reflection of having reached "peak additiction" . Its hard to argue that there is a similar morale onus comparable to , say, addictive drugs - be they clinical or recreational ( smoking, alcohol)
Totally up to the user to guage their usuage of the Iphone. Not a concern of Apple if people end up getting addicted.
1
It's time for people to stop being so addicted to Apple phones. They don't need to have it first by waiting on long lines. Sorry, but no phone is worth that. I think Apple is over-rated and overpriced to tell you the truth. People need to get back to talking to each other and not always being so connected.
1
Give me a break. I believe government can do many good and important things, but if the author is suggesting regulation on this topic, we really have lost a sense of personal responsibility. I grew up in the 50's in a house where no tv on school nights was the rule, no cartoons ever and no breakfast cereals. Come on guys, just put phone down and get your kids too also; it's a pretty basic lesson is self discipline for you and your kids.
4
This is much ado about nothing.
3
I could see creating notification levels within apps, except that the definition of "urgent" and "unnecessary" varies with each user, and to some, their mother's sister's cousin's high school friend posting a new Facebook photo is urgent news. By the same token, I could also see apps warning us that we're spending too much time on them, but that won't stop us from reacting angrily and shutting the notices down. ("It's my iPhone. I'll Instagram as much as I want.")
So in the end, the problem is us. Our devices can tell us all they want to put them down, but that does not mean we gullible users will.
1
The "experts" need to quit putting the blame on companies for the lack of parents control over their children. Parents have the ultimate control by either not giving their children devices or taking them away. Many parents these days stick a smartphone or tablet in their children hands so that they don't have to deal with them. They are the same types that would get their children a TV for their room so they would be occupied and the parents would not have to deal with them. It gave them all an excuse to blame someone else for their children anti-social or otherwise bad behavior!
As for singling out Apple, what about Google, Facebook, and especially Twitter (which our President is addicted to!), and others???? After all, Apple is only 12-15% of the phone market!
4
It is notable that many of the people who head tech companies do not allow their young children to mess with these things. Seen it mentioned many times.
1
You know, the reason for that Apple Watch ad is that Apple wants you to throw out last year's model that had to be near the phone to work, and get this year's model that has its own phone number. Not that they really want us to be more Zen.
Some old movies and TV shows depict teenagers, mostly girls, spending way too much time on the (corded, landline) telephone, gossiping endlessly as their harried parents implored them to get off the phone and do their homework. Thanks se tableaux were a reality (people of a certain age: remember the Princess Phone.) No one blamed “the phone company”or any other inanimate entity, because how much we use a phone or device is within our control.
5
Keeping technology in its place will take a culture-wide coalition of developers, individuals, tech companies, and more. I think we're starting to see the pendulum swing back the other way, we've reached the edge of unhealthiness and starting to see the problems. Americans are drinking (slightly) less soda—a change is possible!
Here's my prediction: companies will find a way to make their presence less obvious without really losing money or our attention. They'll embed their alerts in a watch, or in the Echo, or just dump a bunch of quick action items so that we check the phone 5 times an hour instead of 20, but they'll keep the advertisers happy and continue to dominate our lives—I believe they are willing to go low profile, but not to go away.
Oh please. This is the duty of parents, not companies like Apple.
12
Do I ever agree with you. Any communications device has the potential to hook people. I remember the jokes we made back in the 50s and 60s, on how American dependents used our public phones, blocking them for up to an hour and more. So, now people all over the world are hooked on those iPhones and whatever.
This is NOT the responsibility of the companies, but that of the people using them, and, in the case of children, the parents. But how can parents teach their children responsible use of those phones if they are constantly staring at their own displays? I see parents taking their toddlers for a walk, but do they talk to their children or show them something, or react to their questions? No, they are texting or reading texts.
I have never felt the need to use such a phone for anything else but an occasional call when I am away from home, but then I have any number of interests, and am not obsessed with how many "Likes" I could get, or how many so-called friends I could have on Facebook, Twitter or whatever.
Those people who are addicted to their little machines desperately need to find a life that is fulfilling, so that they don't need to substitute little machines for face-to-face interaction which, believe me, is so much more pleasurable..
4
I disagree at least partially. We got were we are now mostly because of the relentless, concentrated push of tech companies. People are already prone to addiction, kids even more so. You can't compare the old landline phones with the powerful mini computers the tech companies pushed onto us. As you noted in your reply even the adults have issues, what do you expect from children?
1
I thought Apple (and other firms) were just making products that respond to our demands.
4
The person who wrote this article clearly has never used an Android device. Advanced parental controls built into Android have always surpassed what's been available in iOS. Further, iOS is so restrictive that 3rd party control apps are virtually nonexistent on iOS. We chose to switch our daughter to Android for that very reason. It seems negligent for Apple to produce and market products to kids yet not provide parents adequate tools for oversight.
2
There is nothing special about Android except it's stunning lack of security. From your lips and fingers to Google's and the NSA's ears and eyes.
1
This is ridiculous. Tell Johnny Walker to make less addictive whiskey. Tell video game makers to make less addictive games. What about television? Lotteries?
8
I turned off all my notifications (including email notifications); deleted all social apps; and put my phone on silent. All the constant pings and words flashing on the screen ceased
My quality of life improved right away. I suddenly had time again. Time to read a good book or watch squirrels at the park. I'd forgotten what it was like to just sit and think thoughts.
When you're scrolling through nonsense on your phone, you miss out on so much. You are feeding your life to digital vampires. Reclaim your brain!
25
Marge, in a few words you said exactly what I was trying to say. Enjoy your new-found life - it's lovely, isn't it?
1
And up goes cholesterol and body weight, down goes awareness and participation in an advancing culture.
Or yes, there's always this proactive, self-determined, simple option.
silly article. try this for something serious: https://daringfireball.net:
It’s time for Farhad Manjoo to write a less eye-roll-inducing column:
Imagine if, once a week, your phone gave you a report on how you spent your time, similar to how your activity tracker tells you how sedentary you were last week. It could also needle you: “Farhad, you spent half your week scrolling through Twitter. Do you really feel proud of that?” It could offer to help: “If I notice you spending too much time on Snapchat next week, would you like me to remind you?”
This sounds annoying as hell. Being aware of how much time you’re spending in which apps is an interesting idea, but you can already get a good sense of that in the Settings → Battery panel.........
6
How many people know to go to Settings-> Battery.......
People should assume their own responsibility indeed, no question about it. But then again so does the tech industry. Cigarette packs come with a warning, so does alcohol or prescription drugs. Maybe smartphones should as well come with a few.
2
"It’s not Apple’s fault that you feel enslaved by your phone."
Really?
Of COURSE it is. Apple spends millions to purposely make the phone itself and app content as appealing and as addictive as possible.
Talk about naïve writers. Where did they find this young lad?
4
Someone builds a product that is appealing - we'll have none of that here.
5
Can we sue Apple now like cigarette makers were sued for selling us the addictive pastimes they produced?
1
Cigarette makers weren't sued for selling cigarettes. They were sued for decades of deliberate lying.
1
Several times in this piece it's pointed out that Apple is not at fault for how people use their phones, but it's being singled out and asked to "just fix it". Never mind that Samsung and Apple have about equal market share in the US, and when it comes to operating systems—which is what matters—Android is significantly bigger than iOS. Why does Apple get the dubious honor of being the guardian? Because stories with Apple in the headline gets most clicks?
Smartphone dependence (addiction?) is a problem caused by how we use our phones. The way Facebook and other apps are designed to trigger our addictive impulses is calculated to get and keep our attention. This is not a problem of interface design.. it's a problem of design philosophy. Do we build apps to maximize money, or to improve quality of life? Apple is not in the app-making business, so you're quite simply directing your criticism at the wrong people.
Most importantly, we can choose to disable notifications for certain apps. We can choose to put down the phone, turn it to silent, or shut it off entirely. When it comes down to it we can't blame anyone but ourselves.
5
Get a Budgie or a canary. When I began calling up friends on my landline phone more often and getting calls back, I noticed my male canary, Donnie T., was beginning to integrate both the ringtone and the dial tones into his song. The calls were not excessive as I prefer direct communication, but it was a distinct warning not to overdo it.
Dr. Dr. Please help me! I've got a fetish, er I mean an addiction. I can't put down my iPhone, I drive with it, sleep with it, make hoochie with it, I coo sweet nothings to it. I just can't break away. I'm really not a bad person. Its worse than cigarettes, booze or meth. Is there iPA program??? Just tell me what are the 12 steps, I'll do anything to get this monkey off my back. Maybe I could sue Apple they're responsible for all this. Find me a lawyer!!!
1
Go ahead and build one, Mr. Majoo. the "shoulds" we put on others, are full of self righteousness but devoid of moral authority.
I just read this article on my phone. My only addiction is The NY Times.
11
Perspective. Something this article lacks completely and is rather insulting to those suffering true addictions. Gambling, opioids, and the like are true addictions as the article gives lip service to. The studies done on so-called tech addiction have not been peer reviewed nor shown to be empirically sound.
Rather than writing trite and psychobabble, the author needs to delve into actual harm from addictive behaviour which can come out in everything from hoarding, to poor sleeping and eating habits and show scientifically with data backed evidence how those people without addictive personalities are becoming addicted to smartphones. The answer is there isn't any shred of evidence that this is happening, rather it is people with already addictive personalities that are using technology as their stem or pacifier. Classical conditioning and habit forming happens with food, sleep patterns, and yes, even technology, but it isn't the technology itself that is causing addiction. You don't hear people accusing kitchens of being addictive and that we need to take responsibilities in making kitchens less addictive, but the author has just made the same absurd argument. Must be a slow news day.
2
I think this article is a few weeks early
April fools day is April 1
6
In my opinion, the New York Times is part of my phone issues. First of all, not being a social media user, I rely on the NYT as one of my top 2 sources of important information. I am constantly bothered by what they choose to interrupt me with using push notifications, though. I don’t want to disconnect because I want the potentially vital push notifications. However every week I get a text or two about a feature story that I have usually already seen. And then there are the ones such a “the lead singer of xxxx has died.” Surprising and tragic as such notices may be, I wish the NYT would let me read such things when I sit down to read news and not interrupt me or momentarily alarm me with such items. I would feel more in charge of my own screen checking impulses if I your organization would be more thoughtful on such matters.
It's easy...disable your notifications from the NYTimes.
I allow zero notifications from email, apps etc. Only texts - and those are distinguished by sounds: a distinctive sound for texts from my family/close friends and a very faint 'ping' from other messages (which I can check at my convenience).
It's liberating to not have the constant noise and distractions. I also immediately block all sollicitation calls so that number can't contact me a second time.
4
Then turn off the notifications. Why is it the fault of NYT? It's your phone. Take responsibility for it.
Apple is not a drug dealer, and Fascism isn't the answer. They are phones, not a lifestyle - this fad shall pass.
1
I find that Apple has only been guilty of innovation and excellence in making their generations of iOS devices. Most of their utility derives from the third party apps not made by Apple. To make a less addictive iPhone either means making a defective iPhone, which is quirky or unreliable, or doing something to dissuade the user of its use. Tell me how many third party developers think they want to make a lousy free app meant to annoy the user. Seriously! Steve Job’s is nit around any more, but he would laugh in your face.
1
no doubt others have pointed this out but it bears repeating: most of our research points to social media as the addiction driver. just think if steve jobs hadn’t made the iphone, kids would be virtual shut-ins; waiting for snaps, likes, and tweets in their homes! so obesity would be worse but traffic fatalities (and injuries resulting from walking and texting) would have been fewer (young women drivers are now almost as dangerous on the road as young men!).
If you can not control yourself with the use of your I-Phone or any device, it is time for you to get rid of it. Throw it away, donate it, whatever it takes.
I for one have never owned a 'smart' phone and do not intend to. Take a look around at society today, if you can spare a moment away from looking at your phone. It is a weird sight to see so many mesmerized and immersed into their little, square, plastic electronic boxes. Try and make eye contact once in a while to remind yourself and others that you are alive and a human being.
4
This is really silly. Between my Mac desktop computer and my iPad, the iPhone is not even the main vehicle I use for surfing the internet. It is one thing to suggest that Apple sell applications that one can purchase to monitor one's phone or internet usage. It's another to suggest Apple ought to "make" us use its products less. The world changes. Just like the explosion of TV use, the explosion of internet use cannot be countered by Big Brotherism.
1
This is click-bait. Why is it Apple (and Apple alone's) fault that we are "too" addicted to our phones? Where's the proof that the addiction is harmful? That statistics show a high usage and that some people feel it's bad is not proof of harm. Even worse, the suggestions in the article are all things we, as individuals could do ourselves. People don't want more settings, there are already more than most people ever know of or set. Disappointing that this even got published.
1
if you can't deal with Apple products, don't purchase them, Samsung and other phone companies would be more than happy to sell you a phone...AND, the parents have a huge responsibility to monitor their children's relationship with a phone...there is no reason for Apple to babysit, if parents are too busy to monitor their children, they shouldn't complain...my brother has children and they have iPhones and he is able to put in place apps that deter and make it difficult to overcome his restrictions...tons of monitoring apps out there, search for one that gives you the tools to restrict access to children...
This is the same as saying it’s time for Jim Beam to produce lower proof bourbon, it’ll never happen. Galaxy, you first?
"And because other smartphone makers tend to copy Apple’s best inventions"
Ha ha, nice one!
I can understand a control that allows parents to limit their children’s use, but adults need to take responsibility for their actions. This isn’t crack cocaine!
This article seems off track...my iPhone (recently and so very stealthily slowed down), is currently the least addictive device I've ever used.
Time for the NYT to quit caring about user metrics like time on page, number of links used, number of ads viewed, etc.
EVERY player in the 'attention economy' is driven to hook into addictive behavior. In fact, addition specialists are key parts of all serious development efforts; we study how to hook users, and hook 'em deep.
1
Nothing to do with the iPhone. Kids and adults for that matter, seldom use it to make a phone call. You can watch anything you want on the iPhone or any smartphone, play games, text and do a multitude of other tasks on the iPhone. I call mine a Pocket PC, it ceased being a phone eons ago.
It's time for human to regain control of their senses and NOT DEPEND on other humans or companies to do it for them.
Just like alcohol, drugs or sx - it is the user that must regain control of their personal habit(s).
It seems to be a common knee jerk reaction that tech companies, or fast food companies or other easy to blame entities must be the guilty party and humans, adults & children need to be protected.
It is up to PARENTS and ADULTS to regulate the actions of their children and themselves as a result of tech devises, media broadcasts, etc that they have let be a part of their lives.
Many humans are addicted to sports, are we going to declare the NFL, NHL, Baseball, Soccer or the SUPER BOWL are guilty for the fans behavior?
Everyone should take some responsibility for their actions and habits, but it's also true that these companies look for our weaknesses.
A company like Facebook employs dozens of Psychology PhD's and data scientists who comb over super specific user data. Using this data they perform experiments to see what incremental changes will keep people on their website longer. As an example, Instagram and various other forms of social media are all based on variable reinforcement schedules. (If you preform an action, sometimes you'll be rewarded and sometimes you wont. E.g. refreshing the page sometimes you'll see a new post--boom--reward.) This kind of reward system has been shown countless times in psychology experiments to be one of the most addictive forms of reinforcement. Companies are using (and discovering) techniques that exploit fundamental elements of the human brain to make money. Sometimes these platforms (delivered via smartphone) yield benefits for users as well, but that's not really the primary incentive for these companies.
Also, it's worth pointing out that the brain of a child is incredibly malleable, and that while you may be able to set limits, it might be hard for kids or even parents to set limits. Almost all kids have phones starting in middle or high school these days.
Though Google should be the one to take the first step, I think it's more likely that Apple will since their incentives aren't necessarily aligned with ad revenue, as the author points out.
1
It's not just about addiction, it's also about deprivation. While we focus on the addictive qualities of the phone, we need to also turn our attention to how the human being is deprived of what nurtures us. The discernment here is subtle, yet vital, to the ways in which we deal with the associated problems moving ahead. If we focus on addiction, we prioritize solutions in a way that's different than if we focus on deprivation. For example - when we think of addicts we think of people who are somehow flawed in some way - even if it's an unconscious bias. We build "institutional" solutions such as internet addiction camps like in East Asia and create enormous infrastructures that then are likely to lead to more, and perhaps worse, unintended consequences. However, if we focus instead on all the ways in which the human being is deprived of the direct experiences we hold dear and that shape us into healthy people who operate best in an authentic world, we begin from a place of empathy - or at least sympathy - and then work to bring meaning back into people's lives through compassionate channels. I discovered Virtual Distance over a decade ago - defined as a measure of what's lost when the human being is translated through the machine. If we focus on how to reduce Virtual Distance, the context in which we look at the problem helps us to solve it in new ways - mainly through metacognition and an awakening to what the machine Is Not, and what the human being Is.
3
Also, cigarette manufacturers should make a less addictive cigarette.
The first decade of the 2000s created a utopian vision of a world where technology made us more creative, more curious, more free. As we lurch towards the end of the second decade of this new millennium, we have a president, the product of a foreign misinformation campaign, threatening nuclear war on twitter. We have a generation divorced from the natural world, indeed from the world beyond their screens. Only a "true believer" in the promise of the Internet age would deny how truly hollow, how un-human these devices have left us.
2
When Apple upgraded their buttons from the originals I remarked that my phone took on the appearance of a Playskool toy - bright primary colors, cartoonish icons. Of course that wasn't by accident - how better to attract an ever younger user. But even adults are attracted by such things. Why do you think Vegas has bright lights and loud music. It keeps you awake and vibrating.
I just recently found out that I could change my iPhone to grayscale and I'm much happier with it now. I can more easily distinguish between the different buttons and can easily use the home button to toggle back to color if needed. I run ad blockers and have virtually every alert turned off. It annoys me that I am being shoved closer to mandatory cloud storage with every upgrade.
Tech companies DO have a vested interest in keeping people addicted to their product. Money is made from apps and ads and the user data they sell. Addicts will always seek the next better "high" - and stand in line for hours to procure it.
We do have the ability to turn it off or ignore it, just as we can avoid any other addiction with a little commonsense and will power. I personally would be suspicious of any attempt tech makes to assist us with that. There would surely be a catch.
1
"company that gave the world the modern smartphone" Good article however statements as outlandish as this destroy the authors credibility. The history of smartphone development is complex and varied. Apple gave us one of several smartphones, and the IPhone is basically manufactured by Samsung.
4
"IPhone is basically manufactured by Samsung" is far from the truth. Samsung supplies screens and probably a few other parts. Foxconn assembles (most of the phones) and other vendors make the valuable processors.
2
Yes, Foxconn assembles electronics for the international community, Apple among them. Samsung Electronics is the major supplier of components for the Iphone, the amount of components has varied from year to year, chips, NAND, Dram, Oled, and LCD just to mention a few. These are major components. Your rebuttal doesn't grasp the content of the above statement. Apple alone did not give the world the Smartphone.
1
I really don't understand the comments that portray this article as minimizing the importance of personal responsibility. There's nothing in it about overriding the preferences of users. No "nanny state" (although I don't think I've seen that term here.) Instead the article seems to suggest that technology can help us achieve our own goals. I wear a fitness tracker that helps me know when I'm not meeting my fitness goals. It counts my steps every day, and it will buzz my wrist when I haven't moved enough in the last hour. I can turn off that kind of reminder, but I find it useful. I don't find its existence paternalistic, I find it helpful for achieving what I want.
It's not about blaming the phone for our own flaws. It's about the possibility of making the phone more useful in coping with them.
11
Actually I disagree with the author on 1 thing: Tech addiction is EXACTLY the same as drug addiction. Whenever we use technology, especially new technology, our serotonin and endorphin levels are affected in our brains. These are naturally produced drugs which affect mood and produce euphoria in the person affected. There's a reason that many game apps provide small but constant rewards: the steady production of serotonin and endorphin. We should start by acknowledging that tech addiction and chemical addiction are identical.
4
I don't agree with the author. It is not the responsibility of Apple, Samsung, Google, Microsoft, etc., to produce technical devices such as smart phones that somehow discourage obsession by their users. When I buy a smart phone or a computer, I want the best product I can reasonably afford. Then it is up to me, as a responsible adult, to control when and how I use the item. For example, I check my email twice a day, Facebook and Twitter once a day. etc. I don't look at the phone when I am talking to someone or having a meal with that person because it is rude. As for children, that is the parent's responsibility. For example, they could turn off internet access so the child can still make calls or text--if parent allows it--but not surf the net, etc. It is time we start taking responsibility for our actions whether it is overuse of a phone or failing to read internet posts and articles with an eye to whether they are factual or not.
15
I think Apple already has with the Apple Watch. It's a powerful piece of hardware that is there when you need it and out of sight when you don't. I've heard numerous colleagues state that they tend to look at their phones less when they're wearing their watch. I don't believe the Apple Watch is the actual solution, but I do think there's a lot to learn from user behavior regarding the watch and reduced phone usage.
1
Agree. I bought the Watch just so I would not have to carry the iPhone with me when I am out of the house. Admittedly I have it with cellular access so I can get mail and messages, but the idea of untethering myself from the other distractions on the phone is pretty exhilarating. And I can still check on bus or train schedule, call for a cab or ride share, which are the main uses I need.
"Off switch". And the personal strength to not answer every call. Perhaps I am a bit curmudgeonly, but I answer calls when it is convenient for me. Otherwise the machine takes the message. I don't like talking on the phone while driving... I find it distracting even when 'hands free' on Bluetooth. Apple provides a 'go straight to voicemail when driving' option... I'm not convinced it is all Apple's responsibility to control usage of their phones. And Apple is not the only smartphone or 'distraction device' manufacturer, anyway. Control of these devices is ultimately the responsiblity of the user, and always for children the responsibility of the parents first. Manufacturers should be providing controls and ability to set up the devices with limits chosen by the users, but it is up to those users to use and apply the limits. Our social norms for 'distraction device' usage are still evolving, these are very new in human interaction, with a lot of the standards still very much up in the air. But it is, and has always been the human being's responsibility to set their own limits, and engage in their own interactions, not the machine's function. Whether the machine is a smartphone, a regular phone, TV, newspaper, or book.
6
I whole-heartedly agree with this, and would love to know how I can get the word out to Apple and encourage them to implement these changes in iPhones. This summer I tried to go smartphone-less and bought a flip phone, but the technology was so primitive that I switched back to the iPhone just to make texting easier. We really do need a middle-ground version of the iPhone -- it's exhausting having to constantly police yourself on your phone, thinking about how long you've used it and how. I would really appreciate if Apple unveiled more of a baseline iPhone that felt less invasive to my daily life.
1
Let's stop blaming everything on Apple. It's time for some personal responsibility instead of looking for some company to blame. This is like blaming Samsung for people watching too much TV. This is like asking wineries and dairies to produce less tasty wine and ice cream. No one is asking Netflix to produce less binge-worthy programming so why should we ask Apple to stop building compelling user experiences?
17
I 100% agree. People who are getting too many notifications need to turn off some apps' notifications (or don't allow them in the first place). People who are looking at social apps so much that it becomes a problem should uninstall said social apps.
3
I heartedly agree. Does anyone remember the words "self control"? We seem to be fast to blame everyone or everything other than ourselves. Get control of your life! You can do it!
1
As a parent I am concerned about the addictive nature of the electronics and applications that my children are using. I have recently read "Irresistible" which chronicles behavioral addictions including technology. It is clear we have a lot of risk with addictive devices and content leading to behavioral addictions. These can lead to depression and psychological distress that transition into substance abuse or disorders such as anorexia.
The one intervention as a parent that I have is to put a time limit on screen time. That is what is recommended in all advice columns on the topic. But this is hard to implement with Apple devices. I used to pull the plug on the Internet but now there are ways to use apps that cache content and it doesn't work on cell phones. I tried using the kiosk mode that locks to a specific application but the kids figured out that rebooting the device breaks out of that mode. I have tried hiding the password but that becomes burdensome with care givers and makes it hard to build accountability with the kids. The kids figure out the passwords over time. I'm not looking to abdicate parental responsibility but it is hard to implement policies.
With some parent centered user research Apple can find a much better way to achieve what parents generally want. In my case it is to make sure I can limit screen time, measure it, and lock use across many devices for all use or a specific app (e.g. youtube) once it has been spent by a kid.
3
I just submitted a request to Apple that they take this to heart and develop such a phone. I use an Apple laptop and iPad, but have skimped on phones, going with android for myself and my family. However, I would buy such a phone from Apple for myself and all family members without a single reservation. Fingers crossed!
Another option is to simply have the user not allow all the notifications. I found them absolutely annoying and have turned all of them off. While I might be slow in responding to a Whatapp or an Instagram what I am not is addicted to my phone. Users need to take responsibility as well.
17
The author suggests built in tracking software which could tell us when we’re using certain apps too much. That sounds like a great idea for an app. There is no need to get Apple involved, a third party developer could create it and then users could download it if they desired.
6
Apps don't have access to usage stats of other apps. This is something that Apple would have to do on the OS level.
1
An article written by another egg-headed elitist who thinks he knows what’s best for everyone else, but, more likely than not, has a life himself that is more of a mess than most. His criticisms are backward looking, and yearn for a past unlikely to return. The more salient observations would come from someone who had keen insights as to what the future might hold as a result of these barely emerged technologies.
5
There are two concepts that apply here: Personal Responsibility and Consequences. If you don't know what they mean, put down you iPhone and look them up in a paper dictionary.
9
First off, my premise is that technology is neutral - only a tool for people to use as they see fit.
With that said - this article is completely wrong headed, and takes us down a dangerous path as we move into a future where technology is more necessary for economic security and civic engagement.
Not only is what the author asking completely antithetical to a profit-seeking corporation, it is insultingly paternalistic. And, more importantly, takes as fact that the average person has no self control or agency. As such, according to the author, we need government and corporations to manipulate our behavior. This is a very steep slippery slope.
If you are not happy with your smartphone, put it down. Go for a hike. Drink a beer with an old friend. Make your significant other breakfast in bed. And, don’t listen to this guy.
25
Apple makes money from Apps which have been developed as an addictive product. If parents can’t make good choices for their kids and adults can’t make good choices for themselves, why does it fall to Apple to police their screen time. All this talk I hear about personal responsibility (when it comes to healthcare, food benefits, childcare, etc.), disappears when you get an IPhone? Hypocrisy, hypocrisy, hypocrisy. If the government can’t/shouldn’t take care of people’s health and welfare (which is its job), then why should a private company?
Wake up people - you have an off switch! Just say No. Enjoy the world and the people around you.
1
Finally, the perfect niche for Windows phone! Is it too late??
Yes. And we should get Vizio and Samsung to make their TV picture quality in low def only, with speakers like those in a subway station.
Let’s also force Lexus and MBZ to make their cars rattle and shake a little bit when you get over 65 mph
This column is demeaning to us all
20
I’m a pretty liberal person all in all. In the spectrum of things I tend to vote for whatever will bring us closer to a Star Trek society. But it’s drivel like this that makes me understand what the other side of the house has against “us”. Even worse are the legions of people out there who are all “Yeah it’s no my fault I’m addicted to ... THEY made me addicted.”
Shut up and take some responsibility people. All that we are is the result of what we have thought. Stop thinking your life isn’t your fault.
51
Same with opioids. Nobody made you start.
1
I couldn't agree more.
Time for parents to so their jobs and stop trying to pawn it off on everyone else. As for adults - grow up.
3
Maybe I've been watching too much 'Black Mirror' lately but I imagine over the next 10 years Apple could release new iOS levels to match developmental age groups.
1
This would offer so many opportunities for clickbait, and blaming Apple for things:
"Apple targeting kids' addiction with fun games in iOS for 6-13"
"Ageist Apple's new iOS over-simplifies controls for users 60+"
"Apple creates pedophiles playground by allowing 'hookup' app in iOS for teens"
I’m tired of society always being cast as the victims of the evil corporation. Shouldn’t the headline be “Its time for you to take control of your iPhone use”?
I love my iPhone; I use it often (digital subscriptions to The NY Times and Washington Post) but I also turn it off a lot.
I don’t see this as Apple or Samsung or any tech company issue. What happened to the world where we were all responsible for our own actions?
6
Why is Apple singled out when it is content that is addictive? It seems like this article is just a vehicle for once again casting Apple in a bad light. It is ridiculous. Should they build a cumbersome phone that frustrates people too much to actually use? That already exists! Anything to criticize Apple, eh? Why not pen an article on why that is. Oh wait... it might be too interesting.
1
Yes Apple, you, and Facebook, and McDonalds need to save us . . . from ourselves.
1
I came here to say this. It's ridiculous that it is assumed that we cannot govern ourselves. We are going to stop being able to make decisions for ourselves as a society if every step of the way, we are being monitored and governed. Ugh... Apple ain't my momma.
How ironic is that I opened this article by mindlessly clicking on a notification that popped up on my iPhone.
Government regulation. That’s what works in changing corporate activity. Just ask the evil Koch brothers, who hate it, and rale against it.
There's a sad irony in recalling Apple's inaugural Macintosh commercial in which the IBM/Microsoft world was depicted as a great, gray phalanx, a horde of the mindless and the indistinguishable in lockstep. While there were political overtones in the commercial that may not be idoneous today, much of the warning - the loss of individuality and control - rings true.
I will keep my flip phone. I have yet to come up with a reason to "upgrade". Keeping it simple.
2
What Konrad said. It's hard to ignore the irony of this in the NYT when their business model focuses on altering the headline on the exact same story every twelve minutes.
3
Might as well ask the sugar industry, the banking sector and the oil companies to self-regulate. Approach the flying unicorn lobby for comment. I hear echoes of 8 tobacco CEOs on The Hill stating ‘I believe our product is not addictive’.
No for-profit company will truly act against its own fundamental financial interest, especially when the product is the human attention span.
Facebook is making a careful move to head off more blowback against the way its platform is abused by unscrupulous political actors; there’s also very likely a cold calculus of a PR win here: “see, we’re willing to lose money to keep you safe and healthy’.
I don’t buy it for an instant.
6
It is pretty ridiculous to single out Apple here. Please take a look at Google. Apple has about 12-15% market share globally in smartphones. Most of the rest of phones run Google's operating system - they have over 80% market share. And Google makes their money on your attention through ads. They should be held to account far more than Apple when it comes to this issue, since they have a larger ability to stop it AND because they are profiting from the tech addiction directly.
26
And on the subject of Google: when one searches a topic Google prioritizes paid links, and in some cases makes finding real content actually impossible to find by key-word searches.
1
Hear, hear. I've had an iPhone since they first came out, and I can easily put it away when out to dinner with friends. At the same dinner, though, others happily whip out their phones every few minutes for a text or an Instagram photo, and guess what? They are Android devices more often than Apple devices.
Apple is a big, huge target and it's a great way to draw attention to oneself. That's the only reason I can see that Apple is singled out. It says more about the one making the argument than about Apple itself.
"We have met the enemy and he is us"
Perhaps we should heed Pogo's words and not try to blame the phone for what is a human problem. There is something creepy and unsettling when we have to rely on Apple to shape human behavior to not abuse social networks. Do we really want to hand over to any big company the role of defining what constitutes acceptable and healthy behavior? I think not.
7
Hey, maybe the App Store could remove Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc until they become “socially responsible”? I bet Android use would soar, but as compensation iPhone users would gain cachet.
2
I only use my phone for texting and business calls, mostly. Would not access Instagram or Facebook on the device.
I just don't care.
2
This is a joke, right?
As another commenter said (and I paraphrase), “Where does personal responsibility figure in?” Do we really need EVERYTHING done for us? Why are we asking Apple to come up with a way to limit our smartphone use when we already have the perfect tool to limit our use - the ability to turn off or put down the phone.
Do not tell me it’s a good thing for Apple to intervene in a way that may affect my use of my iPhone. It isn’t.
3
“What information consumes is rather obvious: It consumes the attention of its recipients. Hence a wealth of information creates a poverty of attention, and a need to allocate that attention efficiently among the overabundance of information sources that might consume it.” -- Nobel Laureate Herbert Simon, 1971 [!!!]
I believe we have been working up to a revolt against anything that tries to manipulate our attention. The biggest impact will be advertising-driven business models. Can't wait.
Cigarettes are a legal product that kills millions of consumers yearly when used exactly as manufacturing suggests. A phone when used correctly does not kill millions of people a year. It is a transformative tool.
People need to put down their phones, pick up their children, look them in the face and tell them they are loved.
Hold your lovers hand instead of holding your phone.
8
My particular objection to what the subject of this column: a demand by worried experts to change a device we are using. is. It is not uncommon for those who have little knowledge of conditions around them and also "experts" who may have some certification, but who have no universal ability to analyze and prescribe therapy, let's call it, affecting multitudes of individuals who have more differences between them than commonalities.
Principally the main qualification for identifying this alleged iPhone problem is that these
vigilantes are "worried". I say, take their cell phones away and commit them for 72 hours or 20 days and evaluate them for what can be done to alleviate this anxiety. Keep a Federal, State and Local File on these people so they will not be allowed to purchase and use handguns for whatever imaginary devil there is out in their world.
I am only slightly knowledgeable as to what conditions need to be imposed on these people to prevent them from exorcizing their demons from themselves or others whom they wish to help or save or whatever.
2
Very interesting idea. If Apple doesn't take your advice I'll be watching for other manufacturers to step into the breach.
I've spent close to 35 years as a software and network engineer building the bits of technology that make the iPhone experience what is today. I would not like to see it dumbed down, as a solution to overuse.
Perhaps because I've used them for 35 years, and the first computers just gave you text, I see computers as tools. I've tried to raise my kids that way too. With varying success. This also includes limiting TV time, video games, and other forms of electronic babysitting. I made them build their own computers,and they know how they work.
Also, no iPhones at the dinner table, or in the car when we're driving. Or during "homework time".
15
The magic of Steve Jobs was that he could find what makes a product addictive. From the first Macs, that was the theme. He actually advertised that way and got away with it. There was this giant office building with tons of partitions and the office manage proudly talking about how since they got Macs everyone is always using their computers. NOT A WORD about productivity.
So, is it a surprise that the company that got big by making addictive products is still making addictive products?
1
There are some good ideas in this piece, but I'm still challenged in how you make this more than feel-good in a distributed media environment. According to Statista, Apple has 12.5% of the global smartphone market, so even if it manipulates phones or store policies to reduce use, will all the Android manufacturers do the same? If YouTube and Facebook change their algorithms, will smaller or less reputable companies simply juice theirs to capture some of the runoff users or usage?
In an environment where anyone - two people to tens of thousands, garage to city-sized campus - can launch a content or platform play, and where AI and other interactive technologies can be embedded in everything from a lamp to a toilet to a phone, where are the pressure points that can affect attitude and behavior, without simply popping up elsewhere like whack-a-mole?
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Its share of App Store revenue is a lot higher than its market share; ie, Apple’s users are the most lucrative to social nets and their advertisers, so changing the rules would likely prompt a wider change.
All of the controls in the world will not stop parents from using these devices as digital babysitters. The AAP already has a comprehensive set of recommendations that many parents seem all too happy to ignore.
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Once negative habits are established, they're broken only when the person doing them is ready for change. Just like food choices -- how many Americans opt for healthful meals over fast food? -- the decision to live a healthy and productive lifestyle is up to the individual. Corporations like Apple might offer suggestions, but only those smart phone over-users who choose to remove their Bluetooth ear buds will listen.
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Both of these recommendations are sane and realistic. While I don't consider myself addicted to my phone, I've wanted finer-grained notifications on iOS for a long time - having a red dot on an app because of something unimportant wastes multiple minutes every day.
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The NY Times should look in the mirror for sensible ways to control addiction. It really is the content, not the interface, that is addictive and the Time’s content tops the list of continuously changing and engaging content. Back in the days when print was all we had, there were a very limited number of editions every day. Anti-addictive prudence would limit that to one update per day.
Perhaps other content publishers, such as Twitter and Facebook could publish content once per day at a set time which would certainly limit the need to be always online. I don’t see this as a technology challenge but on of socially responsible content publishing. Game publishers could even limit players to one game per day.
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These are all great ideas and no doubt Apple will address this in some way.
However, as others have said, there is a place for personal responsibility in this problem and its solution. While it's certainly easier to limit a kid's hours watching a family TV, it's tougher but not impossible to limit a kid's use of his or her personal technology by making a family rule. Break the rule a few times, lose the technology.
Parents placing all responsibility for their kids' addiction to technology on Apple or more generally on smartphone makers seems like dysparentia to me.
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I can certainly see the downsides of technology overuse, especially for children. I wonder, however, why there seems to be no mention of personal responsibility in how much we use it. It is possible to silence notifications from most apps, as is silencing one's phone altogether. This article's suggestions, however noble their intent, cast us as helpless children unable to control our lives without the benevolence of a major corporation. As for children, I believe that parents bear the responsibility for ensuring the well-being of their children, not Apple. If a parent is concerned about their child's unhealthy tech "addiction", they can and should take their child's electronic devices away from them.
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The article casts us as helpless because too many of us are. In one sense, that's why the article was written. As far as parents taking their child's electronic device away, yes, of course, they can and they should; however, too few of them have the means to deal with the shrieking, whining reply. In addition, we've all seen families seated in restaurants - mom, dad, and the 2+ kids - each family member fixated on his or her phone/tablet.
Perhaps we should be considering the decline of parenting, as well.
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I would venture to say that neither J nor Barry have much experience with parenting. Criticizing parenting about this issue is essentially a deflection strategy that will work temporarily for the tech industry. As for relying on a tech company to save us from ourselves, I think the author is being incredibly naive. Apple, to name only one example, admitted to slowing down its older phones to nudge us toward buying newer ones. The moral hazard is obvious.
This is certainly in the ether right now. I am experimenting with running my iPhone's display through a grayscale filter (it really does make a difference in how "urgent" the display looks, though I have to turn it off for route navigation). And, this morning my spouse and I discussed my purchasing an Apple Watch to reduce my time spent tethered to the phone. I don't want to shuffle into the world in the morning with iPhone in my bathrobe pocket, or have it be the last thing I see at night. I agree, Apple can help us here. A lot.
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Tech companies have yet to respond to public HS teachers begging their administrators for decent, accessible, age-appropriate software with vetted content and semi-intuitive tools, let alone elegant ones. Yet boards and bosses insist on digital so-called learning and boatloads of computerized testing so they can signal their 21st-century cred. If the monster public school market can't even get properly copy-edited digital textbooks, I won't count on Silicon Valley's rich and powerful (who send their children to gigabyte-free Waldorf schools) making any sympathetic changes for the general market.
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Great article. Let’s hope Apple responds positively to these common-sense suggestions. Apple has a tall-order social and ethical responsibility —and plenty of resources—to shape the cultural and social development of current and future generations. We (consumers) are robbed daily of precious time from our non-expandable 24 hours for the sake of profits. The big tech companies have great responsibility to make our lives more fulfilling and less frantic. Kudos to Facebook for taking a first step in that direction.
Prompts from our devices and the dopamine rush of seeing a red notification icon on our social networks have created new, unthinking, habits in all of us. In Duhigg's excellent book "The Power of Habit" he makes the case that habits aren't overcome; instead, a habit is changed if a new routine is successfully inserted into the process with the same cue and the same reward.
If we'd like to become more intentional about our device or social media use - it will require new habits. And to have widespread impact, they'll have to be structural to the device / social network itself. Which is a long way of saying, we're unlikely to change these on our own. We need buy-in from tech companies like Apple or Facebook.
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