‘You’re Telling Me in 2023, You Still Have a ’Droid?’ Why Teens Hate Android Phones
‘You’re Telling Me in 2023, You Still Have a ’Droid?’ Why Teens Hate Android Phones
A recent survey of teens found that 87% have iPhones, and don’t plan to switch. They have their reasons.
(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 😔
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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.
I'm also convinced these are really just paid for by Apple ads. I've never seen anyone care about such a thing.
How often are you around teens though? My dad is a high school teacher and his students are always surprised and ask him why he has an Android and not an iPhone.
High school teacher here, and I see this a bit (although I have an iPhone)
I've heard this is an American thing. I'm Canadian, and my kids are teenagers and only one friend they have has an iPhone, the rest are on Android (as are all of my friends now, the last one went over to Android last year)
Yes this is definitely a major American thing. There isn't really anything equivalent to the green bubble shaming outside of America. And I would Hazard a guess that this is also more prevalent in more affluent coastal areas. As well as especially on the West coast. Apple's back yard.
Most tech "news" is paid by the subject of the said news.
Nah. That's North America. iPhones in North America have become a status symbol, you have to be available on iMessage, otherwise they'll contact you by SMS. I know a lot of people in Canada who have no other messaging app (WhatsApp, Telegram, Signal, etc.). They only communicate via iMessage.
Unless you care about privacy (signal), why even have a second messaging app? I have the phone to make calls and send texts. The default shit works well on iphone and android.
It's called the network effect. The rest of the world (except China) uses WhatsApp so if you want to communicate with them you use whatever they use.
Just off the top of my head...
- High-quality media (SMS/MMS has low size limits)
- No cost for international messaging
- Works on WiFi without cell reception
- Delivery notifications let you know the message wasn't lost; read notifications are also an option, but some people turn them off for privacy
- Many have desktop clients so you can type on a real keyboard when you're at a computer (there are sync solutions for SMS with additional software)
- If you care about mass surveillance (I think you should), several chat apps use strong cryptography
Because SMS is unreliable. On several occasions, SMS messages have either been delayed by hours or simply never reached their destination. Mind you, that's my experience here in Canada.
My family uses Whatsapp and my work uses GroupMe. If we just text, things get lis5t or come in oit of order.
Eh, that was my highschool experience at least. It was never super serious or anything, like it’s not like I was being bullied lol, but I was regularly teased about it in my friend group.
When I was in highschool, the phone was attached to the wall in the kitchen. Simpler times.
When i was in school, you could throw the phone against a wall and the wall got damaged. Simpler times.
How do you do fellow consumer
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.
...Good one! :)
Who the fuck calls Android devices "'Droids" unironically?
Motorola 👀
Not ones from the past decade at the very least.
guess we can thank TikTok and Snapchat for that?
Psst. Side bar.
I like retro stuff.
Oh my god. I didn't even see that! Lmao
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!"
[email protected], now also the best place for dating tips.
Personally, I would appreciate the thoughtfulness of it.
"it's an ex girlfriend's" is a good ice breaker.
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.