The impact of excessive use of mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets a subject that is much discussed these days, when it seems that no one can survive for more than five minutes without looking at the cell phone screen. The negative influence of this type of phenomenon is even more worrying in children and teenagers, which, from an early age, can create an addiction that is very difficult to overcome and which can have negative impacts on their development and interpersonal relationships.
with this concern in mind, two major Apple investors posted an open letter online asking the company to consider increasing parental control options on its devices and reflecting on its role in a “growing public health crisis” regarding mobile device addiction. .
Entitled “Think Differently About Kids” (“Think Differently About Children”) and signed by Jana Partners LLC and at California State Teachers ’Retirement System organizations that together hold about $ 2 billion of Apple's total shares, the letter lists some of the “growing list of evidence” that overuse of smartphones and tablets may be leading to unintended negative consequences in the mind of young people around the world.
Some of the studies cited in the letter, even, point to extremely worrying trends; one of them, for example, from the psychologist and professor at the University of San Diego Jean Twenge, says that young people in the US who spend more than three hours a day interacting with electronic devices have a much higher risk of suicide than those who use the devices for an hour a day or less.
Investors also claim that society's awareness of the problem is spreading, and eventually, if it reaches a critical point, the crisis could directly affect Apple to address the issue now, so it would be a way to prevent that crisis. After all, according to them, placing the responsibility for this control entirely in the hands of the parents and guardians would be not doing enough, considering that all the content of the devices, especially social networks, was created specifically to be addictive and used as long as possible.
The companies in the case, Apple, therefore, need to offer more robust control tools so that parents can act more forcefully, say the investors.
Specifically, the letter asks Ma to add new tools for those responsible for children and young people to better control their use of the device, such as resources to limit the screen time on or the hours of the day when this can happen like Steve himself Jobs did, read and control what can be accessed on the device based on content or age, as well as a way to monitor the total hours of use. Another suggestion is that Apple appoint an executive to devote himself to managing the problem, thinking about new solutions for him and publishing annual progress reports on the issue.
Apple did not comment on the matter, but given the repercussion of the letter, we can be sure that its content is already circulating on the company's spacecraft there in Cupertino. What do you think: is this really a problem that Apple has to fall on tooth and nail or is the sole responsibility of the parents and guardians? Leave your opinions below.
via MacRumors
