College students shrug off accountability, demand that Apple help cure iPhone addiction

Some Stanford University students say Apple's iPhone is too addictive, so they're demanding that the company intervene to help combat electronics addiction.

What are the details?

The group, identified as Stanford Students Against Addictive Devices, told The College Fix that the group aims to "take our concerns to Apple by engaging with consumers and employees in a series of demonstrations."

The school newspaper, The Stanford Daily, reported that the group's most recent protest occurred March 3 at a California Apple Store.

During their demonstration, the students handed out flyers to help raise awareness of electronics addiction.

"iPhones are our gateway to addictive services (read: Facebook and company), so Apple is uniquely capable of helping us curb our dependence," a portion of the flyer read. "Even though Apple's business model does not rely on device addiction, they fail to take common sense steps to address the issue."

Some of the consequences of iPhone addiction, according to the group, include stress, relationship damage, and hindered productivity.

The group's suggestions for Apple include featuring an app with every iPhone that "tracks phone usage and clearly reports pattens," more control to see pertinent notifications, and "modes to reduce distraction," which include features like "just calls, texts, and photos."

Some of the students held up signs during their protesting, and at least one sign read, "[Apple] holds us captive."

Cameron Ramos, a student who belongs to Stanford Students Against Addictive Devices, told Business Insider, "We see every day sort of in our generation the issue of device dependence and device addiction. And that feedback loop that really develops that reward pathway that gets people hooked on their phones and the applications that run on them."

Apple spokesperson Ted Miller told The College Fix that a January statement pointed to the company's policy of "intuitive parental controls build right into the operating system," which are used to assist parents in monitoring and managing their kids' device usage and exposure.

"We think deeply about how our products are used and the impact they have on users and the people around them," the statement read. "We take this responsibility very seriously and we are committed to meeting and exceeding our customers’ expectations, especially when it comes to protecting kids."

Some of the functionality that can be modified by parental controls include Apple's Safari internet browser, podcasts, news, the installation and deletion of apps, and multiplayer games, among many other features.