Tim Cook: We don't want Apple devices to be used for "endless, mindless scrolling"

[nanoguy]

In context: Aza Raskin is widely credited for the creation of the infinite scrolling mechanism that's been implemented on social media, and he's been open about how it has regrettably turned into something that keeps people glued to their phones and leads to addictions, distraction, polarization, radicalization, and disinformation. Apple CEO Tim Cook agrees with this notion, and says the company wants people to use its devices for creating and connecting with friends and family.

One of the hotly-debated topics of these past few years is social media and how it has conditioned people into spending hours on end glued to their devices. Apps like Twitter, Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, and others are crafted in a way that encourages you to engage with an endless string of content that is algorithmically sorted to fit your preferences or favorite personalities and organizations.

During an interview with Bustle, Tim Cook expressed his support of Shine -- an app that's designed to help users tackle social stigma around mental health issues, both in their personal life as well as at work. Cook believes apps like Shine are powerful examples of how technology can be used to improve the quality of people's lives.

Image credit: Claudio Scotto

The Apple CEO was also asked to weigh in on the recent reports about how Facebook and Instagram impact young people's mental health. He says that's one of the reasons Apple developed features like Screen Time, but the time spent using social media apps is only one component, the other being what you're doing.

Cook explained that "we want people to do things with their devices, like the photography exhibit [that he enjoyed earlier that day], or connecting with family and friends with FaceTime. Not endless, mindless scrolling." He's a strong proponent of the idea that "technology should serve humanity and not the other way around."

Online and technology addiction are high up on Apple's priority list of things to solve, and the company believes it can do more to prevent them on its devices. At the same time, it's researching ways for the iPhone to monitor for common mental health conditions and possibly even detect early warning signs.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/91661-tim-cook-dont-want-apple-devices-used-endless.html

 

[VitalyT]

No, he wants people mindless in other ways...

 

[Crinkles]

Cook explained that "we want people to do things with their devices"

Like this?

 

[Jack Deth]

Translation: "We need you to do more with your phone so we can mine more of your data and keep a closer watch on you. We want to help you be a good citizen."

Cuz misinformation.

 

[Dimitriid]

Translation: "We need you to do more with your phone so we can mine more of your data and keep a closer watch on you. We want to help you be a good citizen."

Cuz misinformation.

Checks out.

Actually their end game would be to basically run their own social network eventually so they don't have to share the profitable marketing guys like Facebook or Tiktok get right now but that take a long while to cook up (pun intended) so in the meantime just use many different apps so we get more bucks and **** is a sensible policy that gets them money AND tries to makes their rivals footprint a tad smaller.

 

[MaestroIT]

The is nothing that is endless, but I agree about using the smartphones is bad: "everything that has a beginning has an end. I see the end coming. I see the darkness spreading."

 

[m4a4]

Hilarious that who is essentially the head of a fashion company is saying things like he wants them to improve your quality of life.

Could sell them for cheaper, could be less hostile to allowing 3rd party repair, could open the OS/hardware up to allow people to improve the device themselves... many different, easy ways to improve QoL with your device.

As I said, hilarious...

 

[hahahanoobs]

Trillion dollar company that will sell you a budget phone with flagship guts and would rather sell you a new phone than replace your screen or battery for less. Apple cares about your privacy, but yet there are countless stories about them not caring about recovering your data if your phone doesn't turn on. But privacy!

You can't make this stuff up.

 

[Nobina]

Remove apps from the app store that allow mindless scrolling and you're good.

 

[Ludak021]

He could look up his company website and start from there.

 

[captaincranky]

There's a website that posts on "Quora", that has the "endless scrolling" thing, tuned to a fine art.

First, they'll get your interest with a topic, say, "what do these former beauty queens look like now"?

So, you go to the site, and read about the person they mentioned on their "list". However, they only have one person per page, and you have to click to the next page for the next name.

Each page is a "click", and they can run back to their advertisers with a monumental click count, and charge accordingly for ad space.

They got me once with it, almost all the way through. But then I said to myself, "f**k this, I don't really need to know".So, I went back to Quora, to languish in the stupidity and pure laziness of the supplicants seeking answers to the most basic computer questions imaginable.

 

[lna2000]

Tim Cook is Evil.

 

[wiyosaya]

Too late, Mr. Cook! I don't think there is anything that you can do about this now.

 

[SixTymes]

He sure is a slow thinker. kind of late to the table there Mr. Kook

 

[kiwigraeme]

There's a website that posts on "Quora", that has the "endless scrolling" thing, tuned to a fine art.

First, they'll get your interest with a topic, say, "what do these former beauty queens look like now"?

So, you go to the site, and read about the person they mentioned on their "list". However, they only have one person per page, and you have to click to the next page for the next name.

Each page is a "click", and they can run back to their advertisers with a monumental click count, and charge accordingly for ad space.

They got me once with it, almost all the way through. But then I said to myself, "f**k this, I don't really need to know".So, I went back to Quora, to languish in the stupidity and pure laziness of the supplicants seeking answers to the most basic computer questions imaginable.

The Apple Wish Prince - can answer your questions.

 

[umbala]

This is hilarious. Apple pretending to be a responsible company. Meanwhile they're selling like 100+ million devices each year and expect everyone to keep buying that many every year. That means 100+ million Apple devices are getting thrown out each year to make room for the new ones. Can you even imagine what 100+ million discarded Apple devices look like? It's a pretty big pile of trash.

 

[Markoni35]

The is nothing that is endless, but I agree about using the smartphones is bad: "everything that has a beginning has an end. I see the end coming. I see the darkness spreading."

Except time. It probably doesn't have the beginning or the end.

 

[kenny loris]

Not endless scrolling, but endless trolling and taking money from people.