kingpepe8006Why do iphone users still see their phones as a status symbol
Hermit_LailokenThat is how they market their products.
And those demographics are very susceptible to marketing and peer pressure. The chat bubble colors are designed to make you think of alternative phone users as outcasts. Used to be the same with photos and videos in MMS.
By your late 20s most people don’t give a shit about being labeled outcast, but by then you’re locked into their ecosystem.
This is definitely one reason for their design, and Apple is shit for that, but the primary reason and the one that many iphone haters miss or trivialize is that SMS/MMS are absolutely fucking trash. There has to be a distinction because if you’re using imessage and relying on all your messages being e2e encrypted and your photos/videos not being compressed to shit, it’s important to get a blatant visual indicator when that’s not actually the case.
I’m not trying to downplay apple’s bullshit social engineering about this, that really is fucked up, but this gets misconstrued all the time as irrational users being upset by green bubbles when to (many of) those users it’s actually a huge downgrade in security and functionality that they’re reacting to.
Behold: a blatant visual indicator
Yeah exactly what I mean, any good UI will have to distinguish between things that are actually different in relevant ways. I’m less of a fan of this UI personally, cuz if both are using sms for a bit you probably lose your visual reminder of the difference, but people focusing on the visual indicator existing at all are missing the point imo.
Apple tells them to.
Tuukka RHow does that telling happen, actually?
Marketing.
Go back to the Aople/PC ads in the 90’s,wherr the Apple guy was hip, and the PC guy was an old fuddy-duddy in a brown suit.
Apple has always traded on the slickness of their products. They often claim to be the “first” at something, when they really just developed the first seriously marketable version. iPhone wasn’t the first smartphone by years. Just the first one that was slick enough for consumers to bite on, when a year before it was geeky to have such a device.
Their entire premise is “Are you too stupid to work a computer? Now you can do computer things without being a nerd!”
Marketing.
Duh.
But what does that marketing include?
This 39-year-old north-European doesn’t seem to get reached by Apple’s marketing at all.
Companies pay groups to run marketing campaigns that push the idea that their product is missing from your life. Exact methods vary but it’s often in the form of video and printed advertising. Sometimes you’ll see celebrity endorsements or conspicuous product placement in TV/movies. Whatever the people-nerds think will convince the general public to buy.
Simulated intellect. The same way that big, fake boobs sell products to a particular demographic, so do fake, big brains appeal to another.
Kids are like that. Most adults don’t care.
I may consider “many adults”… I still get grief about it from older adults (I’m talking people in their 40’s and older). Though either of us could be correct.
These are people who can’t be bothered with how things work, but… are amazing at what they do. So it’s an interesting circumstance to observe, and I haven’t come to any strong conclusions.
Those adults might still be children.
Miles O'BrienAh, no true scottsman adult, then.
cRazi_manBullshit. Adults absolutely care. It’s human nature to try to project your status in the social hierarchy. That takes different forms and may instead be projecting status with a Stanley flask or Canada Goose jacket, or whatever.
Most adults don’t use their iphones as status symbols. Look at 10 random adults iphones and over 9 of them will be damaged.
I’ve managed iphones for hundreds of people and only encountered a few that care at all.
BlackBerry holdovers would be a different discussion though.
“Adults”.
RivalarrivalThose aren’t adults. Those are elderly children.
Soooo, adults?
Don’t pretend we’ve ever been better than that as a species. The exact form it takes changes (who does ermine fur anymore?) but the idea stays the same.
Don’t pretend we’ve ever been better than that as a species.
Will you make the argument that people who refuse to follow such fashion trends are somehow inhuman?
If you are unwilling to make such an argument, I will not accept your premise that this is a trait of the “species”.
What you (and the parent comment) are describing is a characteristic of certain childish behaviors, philosophies and cultures, not humanity in general.
The sophomoric behavior of these geriatric children is not an indictment of humanity in general.
More like, most common allele within the species.
What’s the culture where people don’t covet meaningless status symbols? Even hunter gatherer cultures have generated examples, and they can’t own much more than they can carry.
What’s the culture where people don’t covet meaningless status symbols?
While there are numerous examples of such philosophies and cultures around the globe, I don’t actually need to identify such a culture to demonstrate my point.
If one can remain human without engaging in this behavior, this behavior is not a characteristic of the human condition.
The question before you is whether the members of such a hypothetical culture are inhuman specifically because they do not engage in that covetous behavior.
The abhorrent behaviors being described are conditions of ideas held by certain members of the species. The species is not lessened by the rejection of such ideas. The “certain members” are lessened by their adherence to those ideas.
That’s an interesting way of looking at it. Don’t you think there’s a human nature that’s not strictly learned? It seems to me that history repeats way more than it should if we were that good at changing.
Like, obviously, there’s variance at the individual level, but it seems like the population as a whole has striking similarities, regardless of where you travel or what era in history you’re reading about.
While there are numerous examples of such philosophies and cultures around the globe
Dovetailing into that, a philosophy is not a culture. Philosophies at best sightly influence cultures, as actually practiced, and even that is overblown. Since this is Lemmy, I’ll use the example of how well Western Christians follow teachings about not being greedy or whatever. Other cultures have similar facets.
I use “philosophy” to mean one’s individual, personal relationship with reality: how they choose to interact with the world around them. I understand this is a somewhat atypical use. There is probably a better word for that concept. It eludes me at this time.
As I used the term, “Christian teachings” (etc.) would only qualify as a philosophy if the individual actually adheres to those tenets. If not, those teachings are just a work of fiction.
There certainly are “striking similarities” throughout the the populace and time. My point is that we don’t need to accept, excuse, explain, or tolerate those widespread behaviors simply because they are widespread. As I see it, “Human nature” is a slightly more egalitarian synonym for “boys will be boys”.
I’m not saying this is okay either, but it’s the way the world is, isn’t it? Humanity isn’t doing a great job overall, at least in an absolute sense, and part of that is that adults absolutely do buy stupid status symbols to flex on each other.
I think explaining is a very worthy pursuit. As for tolerating, I’m not actually in charge, so I don’t have a choice!
and part of that is that adults absolutely do buy stupid status symbols to flex on each other.
Exactly. And when they do, we don’t say “Well, that’s just what humanity does”.
We say “Despise these covetous pricks”.
I don’t really see what that would help. I’d be angry all the time, and I’d seem like a judgemental prick to a lot of other people.
If I had an opportunity to cure people of wanting to do this, I would. When I have an opportunity to tactfully point it out, and that it’s irrational, I do. Otherwise, everyone I’ve ever met is part of one problem or another.
alecsargentI disagree, kids are taught by adults, so whatever they are learning its from their teachers and families. In my experience I have seen more adults give a status symbols to Apple products than children.
It is still cliqueish even if they don’t do it intentionally when you have things like they assume you have apple things like the iPhone charger( deprecated now) or airdrop.
… is there ever any logic to what people think are status symbols?
My labubu bandolier says there is.
labubu
What the hell is that? Are beanie babies popular again?
Pretty much, yeah.
They’re like cutesyfied Monchichi
cost is an easy reason/ barrier. but there’s others like membership and other exclusivity options being offered out there.
Tribalism didn’t end when civilization started. Anyone not in the tribe is lesser, because the alternative would mean your tribe is lesser.
More specific to an iPhone, if you have one, you can do all the social iPhone things like FaceTime. Don’t have one? You can’t FaceTime, so there is a social friction or impediment to socializing. Then there is the “othering” of the green bubble and blue bubble thing. You can’t share photos or videos the same if you don’t have an iPhone. Since we are in a digital age and less physically present, not being able to digitally socialize the same way also inhibits socialization.
All of this is by design. Apple intentionally creates an ecosystem that will excert social pressure on people to buy their products so they can be part of the group like their friends.
They bought it specifically for that purpose.
Can’t be any other purpose in my personal opinion. Android is better, to me.
InfiniteGlitchUh, I don’t. It’s just a phone I use. That’s it.
Teenagers and students are just that; teenagers and students. Very often they care about ‘status symbol’ but also sometimes they don’t care.
I would recommend to stop generalizing.
LibbI see mine for what it is. A phone. And a serious threat to my privacy. (I'm well into my 50s, if this matters)
YoSoySnekBoiIf you're looking for privacy, I highly recommend (weirdly enough) a Google Pixel. With GrapheneOS it's way more secure and private than basically anything else on the market.
I second this. Been using a Pixel with GOS for 3 years now.
Thx (a lot) for the suggestion.
I've been considering what will be my next phone so, yeah, I've toyed with this idea. But I'm also averse to renewing my devices needlessly (reducing my e-waste production). I kept my last iPhone 8 years or so and only changed it because I broke it and it was way too much to have it fixed. So, when comes time to renew this one I'm not sure Google will still allow Android users to change their OS for a more privacy respecting one, but if it still allow it, it's most probably what I will do :)
DominusOfMegadeusWhy do you think they do? That’s not a thing in reality. That said, I don’t chat about mobile phones with a lot of college students at this point.
Oxysis/OxyWait people really give a shit? Never seen or heard about that
Source: I’m also a college student
y0kai [he/him]It used to be much worse. I remember being excluded from group chats in high school because of the color of the chat bubble for android was different or some shit lol
Some people really got to get a personality outside of the shit they own
You weren’t ousted because of the colour, that’s ridiculous. You were ousted because your phone didn’t support group chats with iPhones. Obviously still an Apple issue but it’s pretty stupid to claim it was because of the colour.
Her iPhone is a status symbol to my wife. Filipinos are kinda weird about brand names as symbols, like they’re living in the 80s.
I see it frequently on tinder where women say to not bother when you don’t own an iphone/ no android/ at least iphone xx
Nope - no one gives a shit what phone you have. Maybe I’m just old but I haven’t heard this from literally anyone or anywhere.
CerebralHawksAs a grown adult, I don’t care what people think about phone brands or multi billion/trillion companies when compared with more of the same. But it’s like sports teams. It doesn’t mean much but it can be fun with friendly rivalries. People who take it seriously though? Not to be taken serious.
I use one because I value privacy. I also have an Android phone from 2019 I like more for a few reasons. I like both. I also like both Xbox and Nintendo. And I don’t hate PlayStation. I don’t use Windows, I use Macs, but at work I’m unofficial IT, people come to the Mac user for help with Windows 10/11 because I know that too, it’s just not what I use at home. I still have like 30 years of experience with Windows. I also have a favorite (gridiron) football team. And I’ll tell you why they suck but I’ll never stop rooting for them. (Don’t have a favorite (association) football club.)
I think tribalism is for people who use things to identify themselves. When you stop doing that, tribalism starts to look dumb.
nocturneMy daughter wanted an iPhone when she was in high school because her friends played the arcade games together on it. That was the only reason she wanted it.
LibertyLizardThat’s why I make sure mine is old and cracked, dented, and scuffed to shit to make sure no one makes that mistake.
I see my deGoogled Android device as a higher status symbol than any overpriced stock Apple device.
It’s not the phone, it’s your age bracket. You can say the same thing for other stuff like shoes/clothes, cars, etc. It’s peer/societal pressure, FOMO, and other factors that teenagers and young adults feel are important. People care less when they get older. My iphone is a utility device to me, and I’ll keep using it until it dies or security updates stop, instead of upgrading every year.
Because they paid a lot of money for them and they need to convince themselves that it was worth the cost.