(unpaywalled version on archive.today: https://archive.ph/03cwZ)
Interesting figure that comes out of the article: 87% of US teens prefer iPhones. Also the explanations given aren’t quite surprising, I guess it’s mostly because of iMessage. Teens will feel like outcasts if they get an Android phone while their friends still use iMessage because of the green bubbles.
It’s actually hilarious how we allowed consumerism to take us this far and that we have now peer pressure over smartphones.
“You’re telling me in 2023, you still have a ’Droid? […] You gotta be at least 50 years old.”
ouch 😔
My entire life I’ve been reading news that only iPhones are cool, yet my social circles don’t care and have never said anything like this. I feel like this is a ‘Hello fellow kids’ type of investigative journalism, that is a secret apple ad.
Who the fuck calls Android devices “'Droids” unironically? This couldn’t have been real teenagers. Not ones from the past decade at the very least.
What you are referring to as droids is in fact Android/Linux, or as I’ve recently started calling it, Android+Linux.
…
The only “discrimination” I have ever seen from iphone users is that their sms client (imessage?) actively shits the bed the moment an android user is in the group chat. So there is whining that they can’t use it, blah blah blah.
And then we just use hangouts or whatsapp or whatever. Like, I get not liking having to check multiple chat clients. But… if your entire life is a single chat client, you need to actually get some friends.
I’ve never run into that, but I feel like it’s a good pivotable moment:
"Yeah Bob, this closed source walled garden isn’t playing nice with the group chat… good point, let’s move to Signal where everyone can have a good experience. "
Going from one app (iMessage) to two isn’t an unambiguous win though. All the iPhone users’ experience got worse.
To be clear, this is such minor shit that the real answer is, “ok, I guess we’ll live with it because that’s how we communicate with our friends now”, but it is certainly nicer for them if everyone is on an iPhone and they don’t have to solve that problem.
Good luck with that!
Our group moved to a private discord. Solved that problem.
I hope Sup. will take off. That will get a lot more people using the Fediverse in a format they prefer if there’s a FB Messager alternative attached to it.
I’m 36, have had windows mobile pocket PCs thru HTCs and eventually Samsung Galaxies, and have absolutely been shamed several times by different friend groups over the last decade plus lfor not having iMessage. It def ramped up in the later 2010s
Can you expand on your experiences? Was the social pressure constant, or just a comment? Do you think it impacted your relationships with your friends?
I have, in my dating life, gotten lightening charging cables to have around the house.
It’s never fun to have someone ask you for a charger, you saying “Sure, use the fast charger right there”, and not have the lightening cable for their phone. But it’s also a catch-22, if you DO have the cable they need then its “Why do you have this cable, you don’t have a iphone”.
“Why do you have this cable, you don’t have a iphone”
It’s like having some spare toothbrushes and women’s hygiene stuff just in case someone stays over. You’ll score points for being thoughtful, but on the other hand they’ll be like: waaait a minute …
Top iphone tip, heh -
When guests leave little reminders around the house, keep them in labeled zip loc bags, not in a general lost and found bin.
Far less awkward when they ask where their stuff is and you pull out a huge box of jewelry and clothing - “Can you describe your earrings for me?” - never goes down well.
Yeah, much better to go: “What’s your name again? Ah Jessica, let’s see… Jade, Jane, Jasmine… ah right Jessica, here’s your stuff!”
Apple has a great advertisement department. They are great at pumping such news stories.
I mentioned it in another comment, but this was real in my experience. At least in highschool. It’s not like I was bullied or anything, but I was teased about it quite a bit and honestly it made me want to switch to iPhone just to fit in.
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“This unbiased and purely informative piece of journalism sponsored by Apple.”
Only in theaters July 21st. 😊
No one gives a shit which phone you have.
Also, no one uses the term “droid”.
This article reads like “fellow kids” nonsense.
No one gives a shit which phone you have.
In high school, they absolutely do.
Like, the epitome of the high school experience is social peer pressure about dumb shit.
And this can have a huge effect on the market in 5 years time.
this must be a us thing, I’d say over half the people have in Ireland have iPhones but nobody cares really, if anything my custom rommed Poco f3 has gotten a bit of interest from a few friends
Same. I mean I haven’t been to highschool in a little over ten years, so I can’t say what kids are using these days. But here in Australia, none of us really cares about what phone you have. Though I think most of us were Samsung users.
There should probably be a sticky post on every article about anything US related. Something like,
“DEAR NON-AMERICANS (ESPECIALLY EUROPEANS). THIS ARTICLE IS ABOUT AN AMERICAN PHENOMENON. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO COME INTO THIS THREAD AND TALK ABOUT HOW MUCH YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND IT. YOU MAY SIMPLY MOVE ON. CHEERS.”
Seriously, it’s a good 1/4 of the posts.
Wouldn’t it make a lot more sense for the article title to specify it’s specifically about the US, then? The US is the only country that doesn’t do this and it’s really annoying when just browsing (especially since lemmy.world is hosted by a Dutch individual using software made by Europeans).
Your “suggestion” is far more condescending.
I see articles all the time that don’t specify the country.
I think that would be a good blanket rule for every post. If it’s a news article, list the country.
I feel like most non-Americans understand that not everything is about them.
It’s the Americans that need to learn that not everything is about them. (Not saying that you don’t, but there’s way too many Americans I talk to who think that the world revolves around them).
Here in Canada from what I’ve seen at my school at least 85% of students have an iPhone. I have been the only person in multiple classes to have an Android phone.
as a high schooler (outside of america) my friends mostly have androids, I’m not saying they are better, just saying that they are more common
I’ll tell you a secret…
All the phones suck. Some more than others.
God, the memories you just unlocked
There was this one guy at school who one day rocked up with his new Windows Phone, that was the cool, new thing then.
When I came up to him and told him he wasn’t going to be the only one with a 4" Amoled screen, he was devastatedMan, we were stupid
Also, no one uses the term “droid”.
glance at sidebar
🥲
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No, this is real. An iPhone to kids is like a social status symbol and potential family wealth indicator. Of course it’s absolute bull, but just as adults are, kids are horribly manipulated by marketing and advertising too. Kids have glommed onto phones for conspicuous consumption whereas adults glom onto cars and houses for said signals.
Of course not all adults or kids do this, but a great deal do. That’s where the stupid bumper sticker comes from that says, “He who has the most toys at the end wins!” Very ugly stuff, in my opinion. And if there is a devil, that’s where it lives mostly.
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I think the most frustrating part is Apple is willfully hampering the ability to intercommunicate between iPhones and Androids and people aren’t like “Oh, fuck them for doing that”, they’re like “Oh, Android sucks.” Like it’s just a wildly successful and incredibly scummy tactic to convince people that Apple devices are superior and people didn’t just fall for it, they’re willfully diving in headfirst.
It’s a shame, really, because I do think they make some pretty good hardware. Might not be my thing, but they make a good phone. That said, I’ll never patronize them because of the bullshit I’ve had to endure trying to communicate with my iPhone-owning family.
I think that is mostly a US thing, as I see way more Androids in Europe than iPhones. But I could be wrong
Yeah, it’s definitely a Yank thing.
Yep. Primary chat protocol is still SMS. The general population hasn’t latched on to WhatsApp or others like many countries have.
I really struggle with switching stuff to WhatsApp just because it’s Facebook. But yeah, every time I go to another country I end up having to download it for something.
fuck whatsapp
Get signal instead
say that to my entire country
Can you try Signal in those cases? If you tell people “I’d rather not use Facebook stuff if possible, can we try Signal” there’s a good chance they either have it installed too or are willing to throw it on.
I’d take SMS over Facebook any day.
We like to think that but if you want to reach people who are on Whatsapp you’re gonna have to install Whatsapp. And the other way around, if people have a group for whatever (plan a group outing, kids’ soccer team, tenants’ association etc.) on Whatsapp and one person is not on Whatsapp, tough luck buddy, they get left out.
Apple framed it as an “iPhone vs Android” issue for their own reasons but the larger issue (social network peer pressure) is very much a thing in Europe too.
100%, I’ve lived both in the US and Europe, and Androids are definitely more prevalent in Europe than in the US.
Judging by the amount of times I hear the same ringtone as mine, I think where I live in the UK is about 70-80% Samsung Android phones.
I live in Brazil and don’t know many people with iPhones, most have Android phones
Definitely not in Germany, I think. People here are obsessed with apple. But im not native German, so maybe im wrong.
Idk, I see plenty of both, and most people I know are capable of having objective discussions about it.
Objective discussions about why apple is better?
sigh
Teenagers are well known for their experience and insight
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Teenagers, as a group, are very stupid people.
I am sorry :(
For what? Being a teenager? Nah. I used to be a teenager. I was very stupid.
Brands have been always important to teenagers.
That’s what he said.
Now you’re getting it
87% of americans is not a surprising number…
87% of teens. I’m surprised it’s not a higher number. Have you seen teens? They’re right stupid
I’m 14 and I hate iphones I prefer Android phones rooted with a custom rom
This news just in: teenagers can be arseholes to each other.
Back in my day, it was over the brand of sneakers or jeans that you wore.
My little brother refused to wear his new air walks to school any more because the kids told him they weren’t real because the style he had used a lowercase a logo.
Back in the mid 90’s, Nike had the Air Modify Force / Air Adjust Force (can’t remember which they were at the time) and the shoes came with a changeable strap with the Nike logo and came in a bunch of colors. You could buy just the strap and change one of the accent colors of your shoes, basically.
Poor dude in middle school got busted for putting that strap over off-brand shoes and they dragged him the rest of the year over that shit.
At least sneakers doesn’t have a bunch of sensors, Internet connection and propietary software loaded, so by going with trend you won’t compromise anything other than money.
…yet
I’m amazed it’s 2023 and we’ve still not universally adopted a protocol better than SMS. Thanks Apple
We have all universally adopted Rich Communication Services, which is an open standard.
Well, except for Apple. They haven’t adopted it.
Apple’s refusal to cooperate is both obviously profit motivated and infuriating. They’ve engineered this social gulf between iPhone and non-iPhone users. I often wonder about the collective social harm.
The low res photos and video are natural byproducts of squeezing modern media into an SMS message, but the ‘green’ bubbles take it to another level. The worst part is that the average iPhone user at best is apathetic. Meanwhile Cook suggested last year that we should just buy more iPhones as a solution.
Mofo thinks we’re made out of money.
yup. buy apple products, it’s the classism of our age to look down on poors who can’t afford the apple logo.
such actual garbage.
Crossing my fingers that the eu æaq that forces 3rd party app stores etc, on iphones, can fix it
Me too. I’m glad the EU is out there thinking about these things.
In 2024 Apple and Google will have to figure it out because the EU are twisting their arms.
It’s 2023. Why use SMS in the first place? The world except the US has moved on years ago.
Because open standards that don’t require specialized software have many advantages… Why would you prefer proprietary software in the first place?
Because it provides a better experience, weather it’s WhatsApp telegram, Signal threema or even discord or teams, they all provide a significant feature advantage over SMS. This starts with properly handling multimedia, not giving your number up to everyone else, proper groups, your messages living in the cloud for proper multi device functionality, your messages living unencrypted only on your device… There is plenty of real advantages with their associated side effects.
SMS as a standard is simply too old for modern expectations, this doesn’t make modern expectations stupid just because the standard is not being kept up to date. I have not written a single SMS since 2013 or so, and my life is better for it. Also there is definitely open third party chat apps that provide an open standard that can just be installed as one of a few apps, the problem here is that potentially no one is using them.
The main advantage of a computer in your pocket against earlier phones is that you can fundamentally install any software you want, not just what the device manufacturer deems acceptable, so why would anyone not take advantage of this for messaging is beyond me.
You just listed mostly things that already exist with sms or should exist as a standard and some of them, Google has tried with RCS but companies like apple actively refuses adoption. Yeah, you can install apps but ideally you’d not be required to, it would be a choice. Sending a text message ought to be a standard process. This is a lot of hate for the idea of standards dude.
The thing is it’s a specific standard that just hasn’t kept up, you shouldn’t be married to any software, and you should be able to decide yourself what you use, I can’t change what big tech does with their software, but I can call people stupid for not using the ability of their computers to run custom software.
I despise the trend of people not realizing what they legitimately can do with their hardware, because they were just too scared to install software. I so often stumble upon people who can’t accomplish simple tasks because they are terrified of installing software, and this messaging thing is definitely one of these issues.
Essentially if you are given a library of software, and you have a problem that is solved by installing software, why would you not install software, it’s mostly free, and requires only the briefest thought about what you want and where you can find it.
You’re entirely missing the point. Communication systems ought to be standardized and mostly has been. You’re acting like you can magically install apps on your relatives and friends phones if you want to.
I have zero fear of installing incredibly custom software and honestly do so most days…
Not sure how someone this intelligent can so easily get lost on the idea that communication happens on a network, not on one device, and therefore standards help interoperability… It’s sort of bizarre
Yes I can’t do shit about communication systems not being standardized to the degree I’d like and with the features I’d want.
So what I try to do is try to bully people until they use an app that everyone can be relatively happy with, SMS is essentially the only one I don’t accept because it’s 20 years old and doesn’t behave sensibly for the modern area.
I can understand that standards help interoperability but realize that for SMS, obviously that has failed because apple has rejected RCS for now and developed a default experience that is better. I don’t control any of that shit. I can just tell people to install chat apps if they want to talk to me. And I can bully them if they don’t.
The network is a network of communicating software so the standard can be installed by default or after the fact, it doesn’t make a difference if everyone would just install software. Being angry at apple or WhatsApp or whatever for not writing a messenger you like is sorta stupid, they are companies they’ll never do what you want, being a angry at users that refuse to use options freely available to them can at least improve the situation for me because they can install what I, or they want to use.
SMS > Facebook
And there are many more options better than both
Yeah but typically when people come into these threads going “huhuhu stupid Americans with their SMS” it turns out they’re on WhatsApp, like much of the rest of the world. Which is just hilariously stupid.
Don’t be ignorant. There are a lot more options, safer, open and with more features than sms/iMessage.
I’m in the US and my thought is that it’s easier to use sms because not everyone uses Signal, not everyone uses Telegram, and those types. If they did… One person would prefer Snapchat, the other would prefer Signal… Too many choices. With SMS, it’s just your phone number, and everyone has a phone number.
Otherwise you gotta get usernames for different people for different apps… It’s too complicated.
It’s not username based, it’s based on your phone number. I really don’t get what’s holding people in the US back to move on. Because these arguments don’t apply at all.
I think Snapchat is more a social media app than a messenger by the way.
They’ll also say they’re too smart to be affected by advertising.
Holy fuck, kids are cringe. I hate this blue bubble elitism so much. Glad it’s not a really a thing in Europe.
I am a teen and I love android becuase it give me freedom I can do whatever I want to do by rooting or installing Custom ROM. Also It’s Privacy Focused(degoogled my Tab + Root). Other Teenager don’t know shit about privacy and FLOSS fuck them I don’t care.
Same boat here, no one else in my school cares about their privacy. They take everything for granted. They only see the surface level of the world around them.
I would never daily drive an iPhone. Or use any of the social medias they use. Or vape, vaping is a big one here in the UK.
I do think you’re a bit too hostile there though, it’s important we voice our concerns and not just lose all hope for them, even if they are hostile towards us.
That fuck them mentality won’t get you anywhere. Your phone is a communications device. You need others to be using free protocols and software, otherwise your phone will be useless.
Apple has better privacy features than Google.
Nobody should trust companies with their privacy, especially when they always get away with lying and their tools are in no way auditable.
I don’t even like IPhones, but aren’t they one of the most private?
Apple only got around to encrypting iCloud data last December.
The FBI dispute happened because the guy in that case was not doing iCloud at all. In that sense they’re private. But if you’ve ever had more than one iOS device or are using iCloud backups they already had access to it.
Thank you for the context!
Using iphones, you have to trust apple, because everything is closed source and no one can audit the code to make sure that apple isn’t being nefarious.
Using AOSP (the open source android project) like CalyxOS or GrapheneOS, you don’t have to trust–you know. All the code is open source and is continuously audited.
The same can be said about Mac’s and Windows (both closed source) compared to Linux (open source).
Privacy is more than just a choice, it’s a conscious effort.
I appreciate you linking your source, fighting for privacy (although good) does not mean they are actually private or even secure.
As it stands today, if you or your information is on the internet, you are vulnerable.
Ah yes, news so US centric I can’t even understand what’s the point being made in the article, that’s what I didn’t miss from reddit.
It’s not even US centric, it’s US rich kid fashion centric. So complete hogwash and it will change in a couple years purely because old is bad.
I read the article and still can’t find a real point to it myself, so you’re not alone.
The important thing is you get to act superior about it.
