(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
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      16311 months 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.world
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        4711 months 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.

        • TSG_Asmodeus (he, him)
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          1711 months 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.world
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            1111 months 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.ca
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        22
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        11 months 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.world
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          611 months 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.

          • @Mereo@lemmy.ca
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            811 months 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.

          • @Zak@lemmy.world
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            611 months 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
          • @Today@lemm.ee
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            311 months ago

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

      • @CaptainEffort@sh.itjust.works
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        1511 months ago

        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.

    • ArxCyberwolf
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      8911 months ago

      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.

        • @deong@lemmy.world
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          11 months ago

          Going from one app (iMessage) to two isn’t an unambiguous win though. All the iPhone users’ experience got worse.

          To be clear, this is such minor shit that the real answer is, “ok, I guess we’ll live with it because that’s how we communicate with our friends now”, but it is certainly nicer for them if everyone is on an iPhone and they don’t have to solve that problem.

      • Margot RobbieM
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        411 months ago

        I hope Sup. will take off. That will get a lot more people using the Fediverse in a format they prefer if there’s a FB Messager alternative attached to it.

      • @SpaceCadet@sopuli.xyz
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        4311 months ago

        “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 …

    • @weedazz@lemmy.world
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      2411 months ago

      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

    • @CaptainEffort@sh.itjust.works
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      811 months ago

      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.