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 😔

  • Izzy@lemmy.worldEnglish
    1578·
    1 year ago

    I’m also convinced these are really just paid for by Apple ads. I’ve never seen anyone care about such a thing.

    • SuperIce@lemmy.worldEnglish
      433·
      1 year ago

      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.

      • Pattern@lemmy.worldEnglish
        191·
        1 year ago

        High school teacher here, and I see this a bit (although I have an iPhone)

      • TSG_Asmodeus (he, him)@lemmy.worldEnglish
        151·
        1 year ago

        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)

        • Eldritch@lemmy.worldEnglish
          111·
          1 year ago

          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.

    • Mereo@lemmy.caEnglish
      183·
      1 year ago

      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.

      • PickTheStick@lemmy.worldEnglish
        412·
        1 year ago

        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.

        • Zak@lemmy.worldEnglish
          6·
          1 year ago

          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
        • Mereo@lemmy.caEnglish
          83·
          1 year ago

          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.

        • Today@lemm.eeEnglish
          32·
          1 year ago

          My family uses Whatsapp and my work uses GroupMe. If we just text, things get lis5t or come in oit of order.