Personally, I think it would be great (and a popular feature that would increase sales--slightly) if Apple had elegant, general-purpose, best-in-the-industry parental controls baked into iOS. But using shareholder votes to do this sort of thing is idiotic and inappropriate. If those funds have suggestions for management, let them meet with management and present their ideas.
Personally, I think it would be great (and a popular feature that would increase sales--slightly) if Apple had elegant, general-purpose, best-in-the-industry parental controls baked into iOS. But using shareholder votes to do this sort of thing is idiotic and inappropriate. If those funds have suggestions for management, let them meet with management and present their ideas.
I am with other posters who are against this kind of handholding people who do not act sensibly. Next what - An iPhone user was looking at the screen while crossing a road and met with an accident and Apple has to build a feature to prevent that from happening??? People have to be responsible for their actions. Period. It should not be the responsibility of technology companies to "prevent" stupidities from happening. Focus of Technology companies should be in enhancing the life of the people, which they are already doing admirably well.
Personally, I think it would be great (and a popular feature that would increase sales--slightly) if Apple had elegant, general-purpose, best-in-the-industry parental controls baked into iOS. But using shareholder votes to do this sort of thing is idiotic and inappropriate. If those funds have suggestions for management, let them meet with management and present their ideas.
This isn't a shareholder proposal. JANA Partners and CALSTRS aren't calling for a shareholder vote on this.
They wrote an open letter to the Apple board making suggestions and asking for an opportunity to discuss the matter further with the Apple board.
Is it really the devices that are the problem, or is it social media apps and services and web sites that are the real problem? Handheld gaming devices have been around for many years but it's not like you'll ever be in a restaurant and see every member of a family heads-down, intensely focused on their personal Game Boy device. Nothing sadder than seeing people, families especially, sitting around a dinner table together and some or all of them are silently staring at their phones in their laps. I've seen this sadness everywhere I've traveled, from China to Germany and especially in the US.
It's also not fair to imply the problem is only related to children when the parents of many children are often just as "addicted" to their devices as the children are. Children emulate their parents. Some parents give kids devices to shut them up and get them out of the way so the parents can focus on what's most important to them - their own personal devices. When parents show no self restraint and are not really "present" when being in close physical proximity to their kids and spouse it sends a message that the handheld device is more important than face to face human interaction. If you're a parent and you're on your device before completely backing out of your garage - you have a problem. If you drive your car one-handed so you can yack on the phone and you have a child in a car seat (or worse, roaming freely) in the back seat - you have a problem. If you're totally oblivious to the presence of a turn signal in your car because it's on the "phone hand" side of the wheel - you have a problem. If you're a parent and you take phone calls at home from work at all hours of the night - you have a problem.
Parents and adults in general should quit blaming children for adult inflicted problems. Perhaps adults could get their own acts together and try setting good examples for children to follow. And it's time to quit asking Apple to fix problems that you own. Apple is a business, they're not your mommy.
I don't think it's black and white as you paint it. A person can be a good, responsible, caring parent and still have difficulty managing a child or teenager on an i____.
And, I don't think anybody is "asking Apple to fix problems". But they are asking Apple to help out. That's what technology does. It helps people do what they want to do. According to Jobs, it's to make people's lives better -- not miserable.
Personally, I think it would be great (and a popular feature that would increase sales--slightly) if Apple had elegant, general-purpose, best-in-the-industry parental controls baked into iOS. But using shareholder votes to do this sort of thing is idiotic and inappropriate. If those funds have suggestions for management, let them meet with management and present their ideas.
I am with other posters who are against this kind of handholding people who do not act sensibly. Next what - An iPhone user was looking at the screen while crossing a road and met with an accident and Apple has to build a feature to prevent that from happening??? People have to be responsible for their actions. Period. It should not be the responsibility of technology companies to "prevent" stupidities from happening. Focus of Technology companies should be in enhancing the life of the people, which they are already doing admirably well.
They already did that for driving with "Do Not Disturb While Driving". Your point is?
This isn't black or white. Apple building these sorts of tools would be a help. They're just that: tools. I am glad my daughter likes to SnapChat; it helps continue to build her ability to self-express and also helps keep her social in an increasingly challenging world in which to do it. Having some tools that makes it easier for me to put more granular limits on usage would be welcome.
As a commentor pointed out above, "Do Not Disturb While Driving" exists for this kind of purpose. So does parental approval of purchases under Family Sharing. If you squint, all the effort Apple is (laudably) putting into heart studies with the Apple Watch falls under this category, too. "It's called leading a healthy life. You should just take responsibility for eating well and exercising. Don't ask Apple to solve your heart problem for you."
Personally, I think it would be great (and a popular feature that would increase sales--slightly) if Apple had elegant, general-purpose, best-in-the-industry parental controls baked into iOS. But using shareholder votes to do this sort of thing is idiotic and inappropriate. If those funds have suggestions for management, let them meet with management and present their ideas.
I am with other posters who are against this kind of handholding people who do not act sensibly. Next what - An iPhone user was looking at the screen while crossing a road and met with an accident and Apple has to build a feature to prevent that from happening??? People have to be responsible for their actions. Period. It should not be the responsibility of technology companies to "prevent" stupidities from happening. Focus of Technology companies should be in enhancing the life of the people, which they are already doing admirably well.
They already did that for driving with "Do Not Disturb While Driving". Your point is?
It is not a foolproof solution - Even that can be bypassed and still cause an accident, right? And you did NOT talk about the specific scenario that I mentioned - A person walking on the road "accidentally goes right in front of a car/bus/truck in the last second where the driver of the car/bus/truck cannot do anything", not the one driving on the road. Semantics aside - there are MANY such situations that anyone can bring up. How would you prioritize one over the other? Where do you draw the line?
Reading these comments, it seems that many live in a black and white world: Over and over I read variations of the statement: "Apple should not be asked to do a parent's job".
But, it's not either/or: Apple can help the parents become more effective and make their job a little easier -- and the world a little safer for kids.
I'd posit that most of these 'enlightened' people crying 'Be a parent' are either not a parent or not nearly the shining example of parenthood they'd like us to believe.
I'm not a parent. Most of my friend's are. And through my job, I've had to deal with many, many kids who were raised by good people but have done bad or evil things. It's no easy task to break that news to a parent.
Their job isn't easy, and as others have said—not black and white. Anybody who choses to be a parent deserves to have as much help and education in doing the job as possible.
Handholding? Bullshit. It's about educating. One extreme is everything is an addiction. The other is nothing is an addiction, just say no. Neither are correct, but they help when passing condescending judgement, which apparently is a common pastime.
Electronic devices can obviously be addicting, and just 'being a parent' isn't always sufficient to counteract addiction, especially when an addition is a choice. Try telling someone to 'just stop smoking'.
Saying 'Just be a parent' is an easy way to let somebody feel superior and I guess there are those who need that faux self-esteem. But it's not that simple.
Personally, I think it would be great (and a popular feature that would increase sales--slightly) if Apple had elegant, general-purpose, best-in-the-industry parental controls baked into iOS. But using shareholder votes to do this sort of thing is idiotic and inappropriate. If those funds have suggestions for management, let them meet with management and present their ideas.
I am with other posters who are against this kind of handholding people who do not act sensibly. Next what - An iPhone user was looking at the screen while crossing a road and met with an accident and Apple has to build a feature to prevent that from happening??? People have to be responsible for their actions. Period. It should not be the responsibility of technology companies to "prevent" stupidities from happening. Focus of Technology companies should be in enhancing the life of the people, which they are already doing admirably well.
They already did that for driving with "Do Not Disturb While Driving". Your point is?
It is not a foolproof solution - Even that can be bypassed and still cause an accident, right? And you did NOT talk about the specific scenario that I mentioned - A person walking on the road "accidentally goes right in front of a car/bus/truck in the last second where the driver of the car/bus/truck cannot do anything", not the one driving on the road. Semantics aside - there are MANY such situations that anyone can bring up. How would you prioritize one over the other? Where do you draw the line?
But nobody (except alarmists like yourself) are talking about "Fool Proof Systems" or Apple taking over as the kid's parent. Parents need all the help they can get -- and Apple can give them that help. But that in no way means that they are taking over parental responsibilities.
Reading these comments, it seems that many live in a black and white world: Over and over I read variations of the statement: "Apple should not be asked to do a parent's job".
But, it's not either/or: Apple can help the parents become more effective and make their job a little easier -- and the world a little safer for kids.
This is a good argument, which I can agree with. Only thing is - Apple should NOT be derided if they do NOT prioritize it for various reasons.
A few quotes touching upon the topic from a book I read last year:
_______
When people say they’re “addicted” to their phones, they are not only saying that they want what their phones provide. They are also saying that they don’t want what their phones allow them to avoid. The thing I hear most is that going to your phone makes it easier to avoid boredom or anxiety. But both of these may signal that you are learning something new, something alive and disruptive. You may be stretching yourself in a new direction. Boredom and anxiety are signs to attend more closely to things, not to turn away.…
More generally, the experience of boredom is directly linked to creativity and innovation. I’ve said that, like anxiety, it can signal new learning. If we remain curious about our boredom, we can use it as a moment to step back and make a new connection. Or it offers a moment, as von Kleist would have it, to reach out and speak a thought that will only emerge in connection with a listener.
–
Even Silicon Valley parents who work for social media companies tell me that they send their children to technology-free schools in the hope that this will give their children greater emotional and intellectual range. Many were surprised to learn that Steve Jobs did not encourage his own children’s use of iPads or iPhones. His biographer reports that in Jobs’s family, the focus was on conversation: “Every evening Steve made a point of having dinner at the big long table in their kitchen, discussing books and history and a variety of things. No one ever pulled out an iPad or computer.” Our technological mandarins don’t always live the life they build for others. They go to vacation spots deemed “device-free” (that don’t allow phones, tablets, or laptops). This means that America has curious new digital divides. In our use of media, there are the haves and have-nots. And then there are those who have-so-much-that-they-know-when-to-put-it-away.
Sherry Turkle, Reclaiming Conversation: The Power of Talk in a Digital Age (New York: Penguin, 2015), 37–38, 39, 55. (The three bold words mark the new page).
I'd posit that most of these 'enlightened' people crying 'Be a parent' are either not a parent or not nearly the shining example of parenthood they'd like us to believe.
I'm not a parent. Most of my friend's are. And through my job, I've had to deal with many, many kids who were raised by good people but have done bad or evil things. It's no easy task to break that news to a parent.
Their job isn't easy, and as others have said—not black and white. Anybody who choses to be a parent deserves to have as much help and education in doing the job as possible.
Handholding? Bullshit. It's about educating. One extreme is everything is an addiction. The other is nothing is an addiction, just say no. Neither are correct, but they help when passing condescending judgement, which apparently is a common pastime.
Electronic devices can obviously be addicting, and just 'being a parent' isn't always sufficient to counteract addiction, especially when an addition is a choice. Try telling someone to 'just stop smoking'.
Saying 'Just be a parent' is an easy way to let somebody feel superior and I guess there are those who need that faux self-esteem. But it's not that simple.
You're right most parent I know who ran into issue with their kids, (I had my own issue with my kids) had no clue about technologies. They were completely ignorant of what was going on around them. So you are right it is about education, not of the kids but the adults who have kids. I have tried to point things out to these parents and what to watch our for and they just ignore it, they are the view ignorance it bliss. Here is the difference between the wife and I and other parents, we kept up on what was going on in the world of kids, my kids would tell you they were impressed we knew as much or more than they did and I was somewhat familiar with facebook, snapchat and all the other things they use even though I personal never used them. Here it the issue, kids are addicted because parents allowed it, and even if Apple did something to study this, these same parents still will not educate themselves so they know how to deal with it.
Yes Parenting is not easy, no doubt about it, made lots of mistakes, but learn from them and made sure the kids knew our mistakes. We also armed our kids with knowledge of all the bad things which happen. One simple example, we told our kids never allow anyone to take picture of themselves doing stupid things which could cause them problems. Along those same lines if they were somewhere where people were doing things they should not and someone pulls out a camera get the hell out of there. This was at the same time kids were have parties with drinking and pictures were showing up on the internet and the next things you know these kids are all in trouble just because someone took pictures.
Stop making excuse for people, people choose to be ignorant about what their kids are doing. The public health concerns are parent who are not actively involved in their kids lives, not that kids are single minded focus on their electronics.
I don't think anyone has mentioned that a number of third-party parental controls apps already exist. However, I've evaluated most of them and used some of them, and none of them offer the level of control I'd like to have for my teenager. This is largely because of security/privacy restrictions built into iOS. Comparable parental controls apps for Android offer more options. So it would be great to see Apple either offer more options with its built-in Restrictions settings, or create a process for third-party developers to assume more control of the device, probably as one of the Restrictions options.
And yes, being a consistent parent and setting a good example are most important, but good tools can help. As noted by others here, it's silly to embrace all kinds of software tools for streamlining all aspects of our lives, but then reject any parenting related tools on the grounds that parents should just do their jobs. By the way, the vast majority of parents I know who don't provide any structure for device or online use probably aren't going to use parental controls tools, either. These tools are going to be used by parents who are already doing the work and are looking for tools to make it easier.
Great idea. All of u complaining that it’s a bad idea are presuming that all parents are “responsible”. Guess what, they’re not. I fact, not only is the opposite true, but I suspect a majority of u are falling short in one area or another—which is why I think this is a good idea. Imagine the time u save if u don’t have to b concerned about this aspect of child rearing? Quite frankly, if ur a responsible parent—and this feature is optional (@ initial rollout, anyway—u would be more than happy to take 30 minutes (probably less) out of your very important lives to configure something like this. It’s the very least u can do for ur children. In most cases, it may b the most many of u do for ur kids.
Personally, I think it would be great (and a popular feature that would increase sales--slightly) if Apple had elegant, general-purpose, best-in-the-industry parental controls baked into iOS. But using shareholder votes to do this sort of thing is idiotic and inappropriate. If those funds have suggestions for management, let them meet with management and present their ideas.
This isn't a shareholder proposal. JANA Partners and CALSTRS aren't calling for a shareholder vote on this.
They wrote an open letter to the Apple board making suggestions and asking for an opportunity to discuss the matter further with the Apple board.
Ah, my bad. My only question is why was it an "open letter" rather than just a request?
I'd posit that most of these 'enlightened' people crying 'Be a parent' are either not a parent or not nearly the shining example of parenthood they'd like us to believe.
I'm not a parent. Most of my friend's are. And through my job, I've had to deal with many, many kids who were raised by good people but have done bad or evil things. It's no easy task to break that news to a parent.
Their job isn't easy, and as others have said—not black and white. Anybody who choses to be a parent deserves to have as much help and education in doing the job as possible.
Handholding? Bullshit. It's about educating. One extreme is everything is an addiction. The other is nothing is an addiction, just say no. Neither are correct, but they help when passing condescending judgement, which apparently is a common pastime.
Electronic devices can obviously be addicting, and just 'being a parent' isn't always sufficient to counteract addiction, especially when an addition is a choice. Try telling someone to 'just stop smoking'.
Saying 'Just be a parent' is an easy way to let somebody feel superior and I guess there are those who need that faux self-esteem. But it's not that simple.
You're right most parent I know who ran into issue with their kids, (I had my own issue with my kids) had no clue about technologies. They were completely ignorant of what was going on around them. So you are right it is about education, not of the kids but the adults who have kids. I have tried to point things out to these parents and what to watch our for and they just ignore it, they are the view ignorance it bliss. Here is the difference between the wife and I and other parents, we kept up on what was going on in the world of kids, my kids would tell you they were impressed we knew as much or more than they did and I was somewhat familiar with facebook, snapchat and all the other things they use even though I personal never used them. Here it the issue, kids are addicted because parents allowed it, and even if Apple did something to study this, these same parents still will not educate themselves so they know how to deal with it.
Yes Parenting is not easy, no doubt about it, made lots of mistakes, but learn from them and made sure the kids knew our mistakes. We also armed our kids with knowledge of all the bad things which happen. One simple example, we told our kids never allow anyone to take picture of themselves doing stupid things which could cause them problems. Along those same lines if they were somewhere where people were doing things they should not and someone pulls out a camera get the hell out of there. This was at the same time kids were have parties with drinking and pictures were showing up on the internet and the next things you know these kids are all in trouble just because someone took pictures.
Stop making excuse for people, people choose to be ignorant about what their kids are doing. The public health concerns are parent who are not actively involved in their kids lives, not that kids are single minded focus on their electronics.
Oh! Thanks for enlightening us! We didn't know that the world was divided between bad parents who don't know or care to know and good ones like you... I'm glad we have models like you to show us the way... /s
Comments
They wrote an open letter to the Apple board making suggestions and asking for an opportunity to discuss the matter further with the Apple board.
And, I don't think anybody is "asking Apple to fix problems". But they are asking Apple to help out. That's what technology does. It helps people do what they want to do. According to Jobs, it's to make people's lives better -- not miserable.
That's what people said about horses.
"You can already get where ever you want to go -- ride a horse. Nobody needs a car"
As a commentor pointed out above, "Do Not Disturb While Driving" exists for this kind of purpose. So does parental approval of purchases under Family Sharing. If you squint, all the effort Apple is (laudably) putting into heart studies with the Apple Watch falls under this category, too. "It's called leading a healthy life. You should just take responsibility for eating well and exercising. Don't ask Apple to solve your heart problem for you."
It is not a foolproof solution - Even that can be bypassed and still cause an accident, right? And you did NOT talk about the specific scenario that I mentioned - A person walking on the road "accidentally goes right in front of a car/bus/truck in the last second where the driver of the car/bus/truck cannot do anything", not the one driving on the road. Semantics aside - there are MANY such situations that anyone can bring up. How would you prioritize one over the other? Where do you draw the line?
Over and over I read variations of the statement: "Apple should not be asked to do a parent's job".
But, it's not either/or: Apple can help the parents become more effective and make their job a little easier -- and the world a little safer for kids.
I'm not a parent. Most of my friend's are. And through my job, I've had to deal with many, many kids who were raised by good people but have done bad or evil things. It's no easy task to break that news to a parent.
Their job isn't easy, and as others have said—not black and white. Anybody who choses to be a parent deserves to have as much help and education in doing the job as possible.
Handholding? Bullshit. It's about educating. One extreme is everything is an addiction. The other is nothing is an addiction, just say no. Neither are correct, but they help when passing condescending judgement, which apparently is a common pastime.
Electronic devices can obviously be addicting, and just 'being a parent' isn't always sufficient to counteract addiction, especially when an addition is a choice. Try telling someone to 'just stop smoking'.
Saying 'Just be a parent' is an easy way to let somebody feel superior and I guess there are those who need that faux self-esteem. But it's not that simple.
Oh yay...a transportation analogy. Cars were a monumental evolution from horses. This study is a step back for parenting.
You're right most parent I know who ran into issue with their kids, (I had my own issue with my kids) had no clue about technologies. They were completely ignorant of what was going on around them. So you are right it is about education, not of the kids but the adults who have kids. I have tried to point things out to these parents and what to watch our for and they just ignore it, they are the view ignorance it bliss. Here is the difference between the wife and I and other parents, we kept up on what was going on in the world of kids, my kids would tell you they were impressed we knew as much or more than they did and I was somewhat familiar with facebook, snapchat and all the other things they use even though I personal never used them. Here it the issue, kids are addicted because parents allowed it, and even if Apple did something to study this, these same parents still will not educate themselves so they know how to deal with it.
Yes Parenting is not easy, no doubt about it, made lots of mistakes, but learn from them and made sure the kids knew our mistakes. We also armed our kids with knowledge of all the bad things which happen. One simple example, we told our kids never allow anyone to take picture of themselves doing stupid things which could cause them problems. Along those same lines if they were somewhere where people were doing things they should not and someone pulls out a camera get the hell out of there. This was at the same time kids were have parties with drinking and pictures were showing up on the internet and the next things you know these kids are all in trouble just because someone took pictures.
Stop making excuse for people, people choose to be ignorant about what their kids are doing. The public health concerns are parent who are not actively involved in their kids lives, not that kids are single minded focus on their electronics.
And yes, being a consistent parent and setting a good example are most important, but good tools can help. As noted by others here, it's silly to embrace all kinds of software tools for streamlining all aspects of our lives, but then reject any parenting related tools on the grounds that parents should just do their jobs. By the way, the vast majority of parents I know who don't provide any structure for device or online use probably aren't going to use parental controls tools, either. These tools are going to be used by parents who are already doing the work and are looking for tools to make it easier.
We didn't know that the world was divided between bad parents who don't know or care to know and good ones like you... I'm glad we have models like you to show us the way... /s