One of the creators of Apple’s most distinctive products — the iPod and iPhone — called out his former company Monday, arguing that it and others in the industry should confront humans’ apparent addictions to technology.
Starting off by sharing an article from The Wall Street Journal titled “iPhones and Children Are a Toxic Pair, Say Two Big Apple Investors,” Tony Fadell, former senior vice president of the iPod division at Apple from 2006 to 2008, went on a tirade on Twitter.
2/10
Device addiction is real. “Driving under the influence” = “Texting & Driving”
Each day 9 people get killed, 1000s hurt because of it:https://t.co/QWqX9LgwUV https://t.co/wWBQNMdsYK— Tony Fadell (@tfadell) January 8, 2018
He went step by step for what he thought needed to be done to combat what he deems as fast-growing mental and emotional dependency on electronic devices and online services.
4/10
Admitting you have an addiction is Step 1.
Step 2 is getting out of the environment facilitating the addiction: bars, casinos,, etc. But…our screens are big part of our lives. They’re our work tools, family calendars, emergency devices – we truly can’t live without them. https://t.co/wWBQNMdsYK— Tony Fadell (@tfadell) January 8, 2018
Perhaps most notably, Fadell wasn’t wary of referencing products created and offered by his former place of employment (including his own iPod), in which he was such an integral part of, likely making his argument appear more legitimate.
7/10
Apple Watches, Google Phones, Facebook, Twitter – they’ve gotten so good at getting us to go for another click, another dopamine hit. They now have a responsibility & need to start helping us track & manage our digital addictions across all usages – phone, laptop, TV etc. https://t.co/wWBQNMdsYK— Tony Fadell (@tfadell) January 8, 2018
8/10
They’re the only ones who can do this – they own the OS & app ecosystem. They need to do more, like single-use device modes: when I’m reading an ebook on my tablet, listening to music (ala iPod)…no email or facebook notifications, no texts. https://t.co/wWBQNMdsYK— Tony Fadell (@tfadell) January 8, 2018
Fadell did note that he was ranting against technology while also using it.
10/10
With (or without) these tools, it’s up to us to act:
Screen time rules, living in the moment, screen-free meals, relearning analog objects like books & writing & sketching, tech-free days for the family to be together. (And yes it’s ironic I’m tweeting this…) 🙂 https://t.co/wWBQNMdsYK— Tony Fadell (@tfadell) January 8, 2018
One tip, provided by a participating Twitter user and supported by Fadell, is placing devices away from the bedroom during sleeping time, especially for children.
I agree! And take the devices out of your kids bedrooms too… https://t.co/yp7V777IwW
— Tony Fadell (@tfadell) January 8, 2018
And it’s not just Fadell who is worried about the perpetually expanding obsessions with technology. The aforementioned WSJ article describes how two prominent investment entities that have contributed a lot of funding to Apple are investigating the addictive side of iPhones, particularly for youth, and how their use can affect mental health.
Apple did not respond to The Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment by time of publication. Yet, Apple is not the only company to have former higher-ups publicly come out with criticisms.
A number of people with insider information about Facebook have come out in recent months to express their respective, but similar deep-seated concerns with the social media company. Founding President of Facebook Sean Parker said earlier in December he’s worried about the influence of such platforms and their effect on society, including social and productivity aspects.
“You’re exploiting a vulnerability in human psychology,” said Parker. (RELATED: Facebook Hits Back At Former Exec Who Said Company Is ‘Ripping Apart The Social Fabric’ Of Society)
An early investor of Facebook, the former vice president of user growth, a former operations manager, and the creator of the “like” button also shared related sentiments, the executive asserting he felt “tremendous guilt” for his work.
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