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 😔

  • hubobes@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    973·
    1 year ago

    This has to be a US thing, in Switzerland there is not a single person I communicate with using iMessage. It’s WhatsApp or Signal.

    • CletusVanDamme@lemmy.worldEnglish
      610·
      1 year ago

      That’s because your mobile plans are usually different and you get charged for each SMS, while SMS is typically included for free in mobile plans in the US. Since you have to pay per SMS, people instead use WhatsApp and Signal which don’t have a per message charge.

      • uberrice@feddit.deEnglish
        14·
        1 year ago

        That’s a thing of the past. Nowadays, in Switzerland you get everything unlimited for 20 a month.

        In the past, messages cost 10 cents on a prepaid plan, so people started using WhatsApp for free messages at some point, and it just kind of… Stayed

      • Shiki@lemmy.worldEnglish
        152·
        1 year ago

        You still think people get charged for sms?

        America really is behind

      • NuPNuA@lemm.eeEnglish
        10·
        1 year ago

        I always see that given as a reason but we had unlimited texts in the UK long before smartphones took off and everyone here uses platform agnostic apps.

      • hubobes@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
        111·
        1 year ago

        That’s completely untrue. Unlimited SMS is part of basically any plan. 5 buck prepaid plan has free SMS included.

      • CurlyChopz@programming.devEnglish
        4·
        1 year ago

        I haven’t seen a limited minute or SMS plan for years in the UK, are you sure you have any idea what you’re on about?

      • Thoms@red.cyberhase.deEnglish
        2·
        1 year ago

        Don’t forget, iMessage is not using SMS. It’s like WhatsApp or all other messengers, but Apple only. It uses the same app, but that’s it. And yes, no one pays for texts, because all plans have texts included. Some prepaid plans maybe.