Tim Cook promises expansion of Screen Time in interview with ABC
As he does from time to time, Apple CEO Tim Cook has appeared in an interview with ABC News to address user privacy, device over-use, and children's screen time.
Tim Cook, sitting down with ABC News
Cook spoke to ABC News' Diane Sawyer on the grounds of Apple Park, in a video that is continuing the network's discussion about screen time.
"One of the worst things, other than something like hurting somebody or something, was the Peeping Tom. You know, somebody looking in the window," Cook said. "The people who track on the internet know a lot more about you than if somebody's looking in your window. A lot more."
He repeated a familiar refrain, slightly modified this time around.
"You are not our product," Cook said. "Our products are iPhone and iPads. We treasure your data. We want to help you, keep it private and keep it secure. We're on your side."
"We make money if we can convince you to buy an iPhone, but I don't want you using the product a lot." Cook said. "What we want to build are products to enrich your life, do something you couldn't do without it. That's what gets us excited."
Regarding Cook's own habits, he hasn't cut back on the amount of time he spends using his time, so much as he's changed his notification habits.
"What we're trying to do is give the parent the controls. There's no standard for parenting, as we both know. People have different views about what should be allowed and not," Cook said. "A fix is defined differently for you and I and everyone. You know, what might be reasonable for me might be totally unreasonable for my neighbor."
Tim Cook, sitting down with ABC News
Cook spoke to ABC News' Diane Sawyer on the grounds of Apple Park, in a video that is continuing the network's discussion about screen time.
User privacy
Cook is continuing Apple's message on user privacy, being perhaps one of the biggest issues of our time. Without pointing out any particular offender of what Apple wants, Cook reiterated the point that customers' data is not Apple's product."One of the worst things, other than something like hurting somebody or something, was the Peeping Tom. You know, somebody looking in the window," Cook said. "The people who track on the internet know a lot more about you than if somebody's looking in your window. A lot more."
He repeated a familiar refrain, slightly modified this time around.
"You are not our product," Cook said. "Our products are iPhone and iPads. We treasure your data. We want to help you, keep it private and keep it secure. We're on your side."
iPhone addiction
With Screen Time introduced in iOS 12, iPhones can give reports to users, or parents, how much time is being spent on a device. For Cook, it was around 200 times a day -- a number that was double what he expected."We make money if we can convince you to buy an iPhone, but I don't want you using the product a lot." Cook said. "What we want to build are products to enrich your life, do something you couldn't do without it. That's what gets us excited."
Regarding Cook's own habits, he hasn't cut back on the amount of time he spends using his time, so much as he's changed his notification habits.
Kids and iPhones
When asked about parenting with the challenges of the iPhone ever-present social media, Cook pointed to the tools at hand -- and promised expansion. Cook said that Apple was continuing work on Screen Time, with him specifically saying that there would be further refinement on age limits for apps, parental approval for them, and better labels on music with explicit lyrics."What we're trying to do is give the parent the controls. There's no standard for parenting, as we both know. People have different views about what should be allowed and not," Cook said. "A fix is defined differently for you and I and everyone. You know, what might be reasonable for me might be totally unreasonable for my neighbor."
Comments
On one hand that seems invasive. On the other hand, my friends and I didn’t do such a thing when we were young but that’s likely because there wasn’t an easy way to do it like there is today. Maybe that sort of monitoring deserves some attention.
BTW, it's misleading to say those Apple is in competition with those companies. Screen time is a feature that is included with every iOS device, and soon MacOS. Apple doesn't sell it and isn't hurt when someone decides to purchase an app that similarly monitors screen usage. That's very different from Apple Music vs. Spotify, etc.
As for those that do...I suspect the TV offerings will favor the living room rather than the pocket.
Because my job involves computers, I still spend a lot of time looking at screens on various machines -- but I stopped using my iPhone as my go-to "timekiller" pacifier, like mindlessly watching YouTube videos or playing games. I carry a book (real book) in my knapsack now -- and if I had AirPods it would stay in my pocket even further. The iPhone is not one whit less important to me now than it was, but I use the tools Apple has provided to leverage it even better (and with less staring at it).
Parenting is not so much hard as there are many goals, sometimes competing, raising children. Good parents are not hard asses and dictators; we nudge, encourage, shift responsibilities, teach, guide, protect. Bullying and body slamming your kids if they don't what you say is not good parenting -- not even being a good person.
That’s called having a consequence for an action. There is a whole lot of nudging and responsibility shifting going on rather than consequences with kids these days. You don’t have to be dictator or body slam any child to show them right from wrong and help them understand how to respect and adhere to rules that you as a parent have in place. Just my opinion ...
First of all, Apple is quickly becoming more and more reliant on services revenue. iPads and iPhones are not the products, they are the gateways (vending machines) to their services. They have been for years (App Store, Music, iCloud, etcetera) and this will even become more so in the future (News, Arcade, etcetera).
And it’s logical because at this day and age that’s where the true scale is at. You can’t say “you aren’t the product, our hardware is” if it’s clear that intelligent, ML/AI/content services are their bread and butter. That’s just a lie, even if you take care of their privacy better.
Secondly, Apple has been proven to drop their Privacy mantra when Russia or China asks for full control over where data is stored or/and accessed by the government. Suddenly, when revenue and profits come into play, the privacy of their users doesn’t seem to matter that much? I understand when people blame Apple of being hypocrites there.
I truly like Apple in how they battle privacy, but Cook should stop saying this. We aren’t a bunch of morons.
Even if he were to give her access to his account, I’m not sure if there is any way to see a history showing the content of snaps sent or received — again, that’s the point.
You are basically right. Apple may be positioning itself as the tech guardian of privacy but the general public probably doesn’t believe it. Why? Because we are treated almost daily to reports of some company being hacked, Google or Facebook getting caught doing something and then starting their dog and pony show to deflect it. The news media pounds away at the subject constantly. Apple’s claim that it works hard to protect its customer’s privacy is an invitation to clickbait that challenges it. Articles abound with similar headlines that state, “Apple IS watching you.” Finally, the public tends to lump all tech companies into the same basket. They ALL are watching us is the groupthink.
As much as I love my iPhone, thank god I had a childhood without technology. I would have gotten into so much trouble. It really was a blessing. It’s hard to be a parent today, and a child with all this non-stop social media.