Students Protest Apple Addiction as 911 Calls Pick Up

FrgMstr

FrgMstr

Just Plain Mean
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It amused me that both of these headlines are circulating at the same moment in the news cycle. First, The Stanford Daily leads with a "huge" protest at the local Apple store in Palo Alto. Stanford Students Against Addictive Devices (SSAAD) are upset that Apple is not doing more to curb iPhone addiction. Just yesterday, the San Francisco Chronicle updated its story on the 911 calls that are emanating from Apple's new offices and the issue they are having with people walking into glass walls. Surely there is no correlation here, but just coincidence, I am sure.

However, SSAAD called on Apple to do more. The protesters said that by granting more control over notifications to users, Apple can help mitigate device addiction. iPhone users can currently choose to enable or disable different types of notifications, such as banners and badges for individual apps.

Of course you can do what I do, and just turn it off and leave it in another room. Problem solved.
 
At work my phone sits on my desk and at home it is plugged in and still on silent somewhere lol. Never found myself walking and looking at my phone, just feels dangerous. Was always taught to be aware of your surroundings.
 
SSAAD indeed... very sad.

But sorry that boat has already sailed, first it was talking on phones everywhere being very anti-social with your surroundings there was nothing nipped in the bud there, now people can internet on their phones, game over man. Just accept this as the new social convention, make rules at YOUR home if you don't like this, or rules at the business YOU own, but stop trying to tell other people how to live their lives.
 
NeoNemesis said:
It's called personal responsibility.
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It's California. Without getting too political, it should tell you that personal responsibility isn't a thing. There is always someone else to blame for your own fuck up.

People bitch and moan that they tried calling me a dozen times... I go look at my phone. Yup, there's a ton of missed calls. I enjoy my cell phone and use a lot of apps, but mostly when I have a need to, not just a desire to. If I'm on-call, it's on me. Or expecting an important call. Otherwise, it's sitting on a shelf charging. I use it daily, but it's not attached to me.

Like you said - personal responsibility.
 
NeoNemesis said:
It's called personal responsibility.

iPhones are not physiologically addicting. The user is in complete control over how these devices impact their life.
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Do you mean that you don't know of any chemical addiction that would lead one to form an addiction relationship with their devices? That's outdated scientific understanding of the brain and addiction.

Here is an updated look at it https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-the-brain-gets-addicted-to-gambling/ in the context of gambling addiction (which would also arguably qualify as not "physiologically addicting" according to how we used to think of the brain and addiction).

Device addiction is a concern among various professionals dealing with the subject matter. If you want a relatively easy consumable on this, google Tristan Harris and read what he writes about the topic. There are numerous TEDTalks from various people, as well.
 
Between protesting speakers that make them uncomfortable, demanding safe spaces and now this, when do these students find time to attend class? Or will the next large protest be against all the Fs received this semester?
 
Sign that idiot is holding up should say "Honk if you are too stupid to control your own actions and need someone to blame"

Get off my lawn and all that, but man, these are COLLEGE students? At STANFORD? I thought that was supposed to be a well above average school.

And this is nothing new, it's been several years now that some idiot fell into the fountain at the local mall because she was nose down in her phone and not paying attention to where she was walking. Yet these same people think it's OK to text and drive..... If you can;t WALK with your phone without running into stationary, inanimate objects, how in the hell do you think you can drive around other moving cars, pedestrians, and bikers with your face buried in the phone? If there was some way to make it so that only the texter got hurt in such cases, I'd say have at it, evolution in action. But the victim is usually some poor innocent who waits until the Walk sign lights up before stepping foot off the curb, only to be mowed down by the texting idiot who hasn't realized they have a red light.
 
Dead Parrot said:
Between protesting speakers that make them uncomfortable, demanding safe spaces and now this, when do these students find time to attend class? Or will the next large protest be against all the Fs received this semester?
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Well of course it's not their fault for not attending class. They were far too upset and 'triggered' by these goings on that they couldn't stand it to subject themselves to the rigors of sitting in a classroom and actually study. Besides, unless the lecturer was African American and LGBTXYZ then they have some sort of privilege and no student has to be subjected to that!
 
It's really unfortunate that people on a tech site either don't know or don't care about the known linkages between the way our devices present information and how our brains digest it. At the risk of pissing Kyle off, I think it would be really cool if these threads were started with a more rounded discussion rather than a quote with a link. I don't mean political ideology mixture, but rather something along the lines of, "here's a story, here's what brain scientists say about it, here's what technology scientists say about it, what do you say about it..."

The student's aren't making outrageous demands. First of all, they were doing this on a Saturday so it's not likely they missed any schooling to participate. Secondly, they are requesting that Apple do something about a problem that is already recognized by experts across multiple fields and their requests aren't even that onerous. They are asking Apple to provide more granular control over notifications and screen saturation (multiple experts have already recommended turning off notifications and setting it to greyscale because both random notifications and brightly saturated colors mimic physiological reactions that lead to dopamine spikes and attention arresting). You guys already know most of this stuff from marketing...and if you've ever tried to buy a TV you know they are set up in the most ridiculously saturated ways to capture your attention, for example.

They are also asking that Apple provide an "essential" mode, which would allow users to set their phones to calls, texts, and emails only. They argue that Apple is uniquely situated to move the industry in this direction because, unlike the other large players (Google, Microsoft, Facebook, and Twitter, for example), they don't monetize their customers' eyes and habits.

So aside from the important and scientifically grounded concerns they're raising, their positions align with most of the people shitting on them in this thread. At least, judging by the constant bitterness directed at those platforms and their users over the rampant monetization of their behavior it would seem many people here would welcome Apple nudging the industry away from this practice...at least if it wasn't Apple, that is.
 
I have an iPhone. I am not addicted to it. It sits on my desk here in the garage, I'll answer calls and text when they come. If I am in the other room and my phone rings, I'll call back when I get a chance, I won't run and answer it, well, unless I am expecting an important call.
When I go to upstairs to bed, I leave the phone in the garage on my desk. The only time I take it upstairs is if I need an alarm to wake me up.
 
sfsuphysics said:
SSAAD indeed... very sad.

But sorry that boat has already sailed, first it was talking on phones everywhere being very anti-social with your surroundings there was nothing nipped in the bud there, now people can internet on their phones, game over man. Just accept this as the new social convention, make rules at YOUR home if you don't like this, or rules at the business YOU own, but stop trying to tell other people how to live their lives.
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Even before then, people were bitching about how mass print newspapers meant people were silently reading the daily news in their own little world, rather than talking to each other.

Personal edification has always been a thing, the ship sailed centuries ago.
 
I use mine to post here, read news and with my google day dream.

So mostly I play games on it and watch netflix
 
If they think cell phones are addicting, wait until they try donuts, pizza, or a computer... FTL
 
If they are still protesting, I'll set up my Tide Pod vending stand to sell some tasty snacks. This is stupid.
I have an iPhone and am not addicted. Besides using Reddit when I'm bored, it's just a source of interruptions for me.
 
Megaslug said:
Sign that idiot is holding up should say "Honk if you are too stupid to control your own actions and need someone to blame"
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It can say whatever you want it to, man. "I like hotdogs" or "Will sue for food" or whatever.

appl.jpg
 
Dead Parrot said:
Between protesting speakers that make them uncomfortable, demanding safe spaces and now this, when do these students find time to attend class? Or will the next large protest be against all the Fs received this semester?
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No, this is California. I'm sure they got lots of extra credit for their social activism.
 
mope54 said:
Secondly, they are requesting that Apple do something about a problem that is already recognized by experts across multiple fields.
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Experts that are a large part of the problem by giving people another excuse for their bad/destructive behavior.

People can't put down their phones because they are "addicted" which is a behavior only issue.

Meanwhile, other people quit smoking by simply deciding to stop, and manage to deal with the physical withdrawal issues on their own.

One is weak, the other is strong. It's not much more complicated than that.
 
It's not a behavior only issue. I explained how and why, gave some examples, and some names to educate yourself on the topic. Were you one of the members complaining about generational stupidity in a recent thread?
 
In India, the sign just says "Honk". Actually, it's not required in India.
 
mope54 said:
It's not a behavior only issue. I explained how and why, gave some examples, and some names to educate yourself on the topic. Were you one of the members complaining about generational stupidity in a recent thread?
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Drug addiction, gambling addiction, alcohol addiction, smoking addiction, sex addiction, porn addiction, any addiction. It's up to the user to seek help. Simple as that.
 
Why Apple then, if this is such a serious issue? Android phones sell more than Apple phones - just not any one vendor. So go protest Google for making Android. I'm sorry, but turning every know 'affliction' into a disease helps no one. Oh look, there are so many more kids with autism. Not really, they just lowered the threshold. If these rules were in place when I was in school, I would have been so classified and medicated to supposedly focus my mind - and I never would have excelled as I did.
 
Megaslug said:
Sign that idiot is holding up should say "Honk if you are too stupid to control your own actions and need someone to blame"

Get off my lawn and all that, but man, these are COLLEGE students? At STANFORD? I thought that was supposed to be a well above average school.

And this is nothing new, it's been several years now that some idiot fell into the fountain at the local mall because she was nose down in her phone and not paying attention to where she was walking. Yet these same people think it's OK to text and drive..... If you can;t WALK with your phone without running into stationary, inanimate objects, how in the hell do you think you can drive around other moving cars, pedestrians, and bikers with your face buried in the phone? If there was some way to make it so that only the texter got hurt in such cases, I'd say have at it, evolution in action. But the victim is usually some poor innocent who waits until the Walk sign lights up before stepping foot off the curb, only to be mowed down by the texting idiot who hasn't realized they have a red light.
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and you see the real kicker to me is.. why are you assuming that people who are "addicted" to their phones will even see you hold up said signs???
 
Megaslug said:
Why Apple then, if this is such a serious issue? Android phones sell more than Apple phones - just not any one vendor. So go protest Google for making Android. I'm sorry, but turning every know 'affliction' into a disease helps no one. Oh look, there are so many more kids with autism. Not really, they just lowered the threshold. If these rules were in place when I was in school, I would have been so classified and medicated to supposedly focus my mind - and I never would have excelled as I did.
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Because Apple doesn't monetize their users habits to third parties. Android business model solely depends on users constantly checking their phones. Not only did the protesters explain this, it takes all of three seconds of common sense to figure it out on your own...

You also seem to be completely out of your depth in regards to mental illness, specifically autism and how it's tested.
 
krotch said:
Drug addiction, gambling addiction, alcohol addiction, smoking addiction, sex addiction, porn addiction, any addiction. It's up to the user to seek help. Simple as that.
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Yeah, you're obviously talking out of your ass just to be a contrarian if you think anything in life is simple as that especially something like addiction. It's pathetic that so many users on this board are anti-science and lack basic problem solving qualities.
 
mope54 said:
Yeah, you're obviously talking out of your ass just to be a contrarian if you think anything in life is simple as that especially something like addiction. It's pathetic that so many users on this board are anti-science and lack basic problem solving qualities.
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It is as simple as that. If Person A isn't going to seek help, it's not Company B's problem. Does Budweiser get sued and lose in court for someone's alcohol addiction? Does Marlboro get sued and lose in court for someone's smoking addiction?

Slap a warning label and let the person who has a problem deal with their own problems.
 
No one is getting sued, no one is getting blamed. The students are simply advocating to Apple to include more end-user options to control their devices. If you actually spent a few seconds thinking your position through instead of just shitting all over the thread, you'd realize it's exactly the same as you are advocating for--enabling people to help themselves by exercising personal control over their devices.

Or, going the other way, do you actually support manufactures deliberately coding their devices to restrict users' control over how they interact with them or are you just trolling?
 
krotch said:
It is as simple as that. If Person A isn't going to seek help, it's not Company B's problem. Does Budweiser get sued and lose in court for someone's alcohol addiction? Does Marlboro get sued and lose in court for someone's smoking addiction?

Slap a warning label and let the person who has a problem deal with their own problems.
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So where are the warning labels on phones? While using your examples I now see a lot of "Drink responsibly" portions of Budweiser ads, and how many smoking commercials have you seen recently? While how many anti-smoking commercials have you seen? All this because someone sued those companies (or the industry)
 
Going to do one of my rare defenses of Apple here..It isn't their fucking responsibility to force responsibility on people. So in short, SSAAD can quite frankly go fuck themselves. Which they probably do as most likely this gaggle of incompetent no personal accountability asshats are likely full of gender gray neutral attack helicopter morons.
 
Dekoth-E- said:
Going to do one of my rare defenses of Apple here..It isn't their fucking responsibility to force responsibility on people. So in short, SSAAD can quite frankly go fuck themselves. Which they probably do as most likely this gaggle of incompetent no personal accountability asshats are likely full of gender gray neutral attack helicopter morons.
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Agreed. Now I don't see harm in anyone requesting features on a phone but treating apple like some kind of drug lord seems insane to me.

Now when I get home tonight I need to read up on 'addictive devices', until now I was unaware of that category of device. I'm thinking the same group that blames phones for their problems also think guns get up and slide around shooting people when the owners are asleep.

I am quite addicted to video games, or maybe I just love playing them, not really sure. When I play too much and neglect things I think to myself "okay that is enough I need to cut it back" I have never thought "dammit blizzard, you need to make this less fun so I don't have problems".

I really want to be young again, I need to see the world through these kids eyes to understand why they think the way they do.
 
sfsuphysics said:
So where are the warning labels on phones? While using your examples I now see a lot of "Drink responsibly" portions of Budweiser ads, and how many smoking commercials have you seen recently? While how many anti-smoking commercials have you seen? All this because someone sued those companies (or the industry)
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These battles were already fought and won decades ago. Warning labels and laws regulating/restricting marketing to minors and warning labels as you point out. Marketing is a billion dollar industry in an industry not known for wasting dollars on ineffective strategies to sell their merchandise.

The people arguing against this will simultaneously argue that corporations exert too much control over their devices and shouldn't monetize our behavior patterns. They participate in a technology forum but refuse to acknowledge scientific facts. Anything that anyone says, they argue against--even if it's something that they supported in the previous argument. They're trolls. That's their escape from the daily drudgery so talking with them is pointless, resolving an issue is pointless, because the point for them is to be antagonistic and contrarian. Every thread is an opportunity for them to shit on someone else other than themselves.

 
Darunion said:
I am quite addicted to video games, or maybe I just love playing them, not really sure. When I play too much and neglect things I think to myself "okay that is enough I need to cut it back" I have never thought "dammit blizzard, you need to make this less fun so I don't have problems".
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It doesn't take a whole lot of brain power to understand the problem. Just using Blizzard as an example, they implemented phone apps so you don't even have to play their game with your computer but you *do* have to log in all day long to micro manage your warcraft account and send followers out on missions in order to progress in the game. Do yourself a favor and listen to the 15 minutes I posted of Tristan Harris explaining the issue.
 
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