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TECHNOLOGYWednesday 10 January 2018
Apple investors urge action to curb child gadget addiction
NEW YORK (AP) —Two ma- In this Dec. 17, 2017, photo, a baby girl plays with a mobile phone while riding in a New York great that shareholders
jor Apple investors have care about it,” he said.
urged the iPhone maker subway. Apple said it regularly con-
to help curb smartphone siders how the iPhone and
addiction among children, Associated Press its other products affect
highlighting growing con- the people who use them.
cern about the effects of ed various studies on the others to be frequent users Silicon Valley insiders have “We take this responsibil-
gadgets and social media ity very seriously and we
on youngsters. negative effects of smart- of smartphones and social begun to speak about how are committed to meeting
New York-based Jana Part- and exceeding our cus-
ners LLC and the California phones and social media media. gadgets, mobile applica- tomers’ expectations, es-
State Teachers’ Retirement pecially when it comes to
System said in open letter on children’s mental and In its most recent update tions and social media sites protecting kids,” the com-
to Apple that the compa- pany said.
ny must offer more choices physical health. Examples on teens and media use, are designed to be addic- Steyer said Apple is in a po-
and tools to help children sition to do more.
fight addiction to its de- include distractions by the American Academy of tive and to keep users’ at- Among other things, he
vices. The two investors col- said, Apple can finance
lectively control $2 billion digital technologies in the Pediatrics said in 2016 that tention as long as possible. independent research
worth of Apple shares. on the effects of mobile
“Apple can play a defining classroom, a decreased social media and inter- Facebook’s founding presi- phone use and pay for
role in signaling to the in- public education cam-
dustry that paying special ability of students to focus net use have benefits and dent, Sean Parker, said re- paigns that teach parents
attention to the health and and kids about respon-
development of the next on educational tasks, and potential risks for teens. It cently, for example, that sible technology use. He
generation is both good said Apple can also design
business and the right thing higher risks of suicide and urged families to create the company exploits a addiction-prevention fea-
to do,” the letter said. tures, such as an automat-
Among their proposals to depression. their own media use plans “vulnerability in human ic shut-off after an hour.
Apple: Establish a commit- But Steyer said a bigger
tee of experts, including A study published in No- that include consistent time psychology” to addict its problem is with social me-
child development spe- dia companies “designing
cialists; offer Apple’s “vast vember suggested that and content limits. users. He called its stream platforms to grab and re-
information resources” to tain your children.” He said
researchers; and enhance heavy smartphone use The American Psychiatric of comments, “likes” and companies such as Twitter,
mobile device software so Facebook and Snap will
that parents have more and social media exposure Association does not con- reactions a “social valida- change “only with major
options to protect their chil- pressure from the public
dren’s health. among teens may contrib- sider heavy internet use a tion feedback loop that and from shareholders.”
In a statement, Apple said The Apple letter is the start
the iPhone and other de- ute to depression and other true mental addiction and exploits how human brains of a bigger push by one of
vices running on its mobile the investors, Jana, to fo-
software already offer a traits linked with suicide. But says more research is need- work.” And, he said, “God cus on socially responsible
variety of controls that en- investing, according to a
able parents to restrict or that and similarly designed ed. only knows what it’s doing report in The Wall Street
block “effectively anything Journal.
a child could download or research cannot rule out The letter released Sat- to our children’s brains.” The investor, the Journal
access online.” said, is planning to raise
The investors’ letter cit- that already troubled teens urday touches upon the James Steyer, the CEO of billions of dollars to launch
a new fund, Jana Impact
may be more likely than growing concerns about Common Sense Media, a Capital, to invest in com-
panies that should be
the long-term impact of nonprofit that studies kids’ “better corporate citizens.”
The idea is that responsible
gadgets and social media, technology use, called the companies can produce
better long-term value not
especially for those who letter a “big deal” in the just for shareholders, but for
society.q
start to use smartphones at ongoing effort to make it
an early age. clear that cellphones are a
While tech companies “public health concern.”
have not acknowledged “It’s the beginning of a
openly that their gadgets much bigger conversation
may be addictive, some about these issues and it’s
