|
Open Letter from JANA Partners and CALSTRS to APPLE INC.
January 6, 2018
Board of Directors
Apple Inc.
1 Infinite Loop
Cupertino, California 95014
Ladies & Gentlemen,
JANA Partners LLC and the California State Teachers’ Retirement System
(“we” or “us”) collectively own approximately $2 billion in value of
shares of Apple Inc. (“Apple” or “you”). As shareholders, we
recognize your unique role in the history of innovation and the fact
that Apple is one of the most valuable brand names in the world. In
partnership with experts including Dr. Michael Rich, founding director
of the Center on Media and Child Health at Boston Children’s
Hospital/Harvard Medical School Teaching Hospital and Associate
Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School, and Professor Jean
M. Twenge, psychologist at San Diego State University and author of
the book iGen, we have reviewed the evidence and we believe
there is a clear need for Apple to offer parents more choices and
tools to help them ensure that young consumers are using your products
in an optimal manner. By doing so, we believe Apple would once again
be playing a pioneering role, this time by setting an example about
the obligations of technology companies to their youngest customers.
As a company that prides itself on values like inclusiveness, quality
education, environmental protection, and supplier responsibility,
Apple would also once again be showcasing the innovative spirit that
made you the most valuable public company in the world. In fact, we
believe that addressing this issue now will enhance long-term value
for all shareholders, by creating more choices and options for your
customers today and helping to protect the next generation of leaders,
innovators, and customers tomorrow.
More than 10 years after the iPhone’s release, it is a cliché to point
out the ubiquity of Apple’s devices among children and teenagers, as
well as the attendant growth in social media use by this group. What
is less well known is that there is a growing body of evidence that,
for at least some of the most frequent young users, this may be having
unintentional negative consequences:
-
A study conducted recently by the Center on Media and Child Health
and the University of Alberta found that 67% of the over 2,300
teachers surveyed observed that the number of students who are
negatively distracted by digital technologies in the classroom is
growing and 75% say students’ ability to focus on educational tasks
has decreased. In the past 3 to 5 years since personal technologies
have entered the classroom, 90% stated that the number of students
with emotional challenges has increased and 86% said the number with
social challenges has increased. One junior high teacher noted
that, “I see youth who used to go outside at lunch break and engage
in physical activity and socialization. Today, many of our students
sit all lunch hour and play on their personal devices.”[i]
-
Professor Twenge’s research shows that U.S. teenagers who spend 3
hours a day or more on electronic devices are 35% more likely, and
those who spend 5 hours or more are 71% more likely, to have a risk
factor for suicide than those who spend less than 1 hour.[ii]
-
This research also shows that 8th
graders who are heavy users of social media have a 27% higher risk
of depression, while those who exceed the average time spent playing
sports, hanging out with friends in person, or doing homework have a
significantly lower risk. Experiencing depression as a teenager
significantly increases the risk of becoming depressed again later
in life.[iii]
-
Also, teens who spend 5 or more hours a day (versus less than 1) on
electronic devices are 51% more likely to get less than 7 hours of
sleep (versus the recommended 9). Sleep deprivation is linked to
long-term issues like weight gain and high blood pressure.[iv]
-
A study by UCLA researchers showed that after 5 days at a
device-free outdoor camp, children performed far better on tests for
empathy than a control group.[v]
-
According to an American Psychological Association (APA) survey of
over 3,500 U.S. parents, 58% say they worry about the influence of
social media on their child’s physical and mental health, 48% say
that regulating their child’s screen time is a “constant battle,”
and 58% say they feel like their child is “attached” to their phone
or tablet.[vi]
Some may argue that the research is not definitive, that other factors
are also at work, and that in any case parents must take ultimate
responsibility for their children. These statements are undoubtedly
true, but they also miss the point. The average American teenager who
uses a smart phone receives her first phone at age 10vii
and spends over 4.5 hours a day on it (excluding texting and talking).viii
78% of teens check their phones at least hourly and 50% report feeling
“addicted” to their phones.ix
It would defy common sense to argue that this level of usage, by
children whose brains are still developing, is not having at least
some impact, or that the maker of such a powerful product has no role
to play in helping parents to ensure it is being used optimally. It
is also no secret that social media sites and applications for which
the iPhone and iPad are a primary gateway are usually designed to be
as addictive and time-consuming as possible, as many of their original
creators have publicly acknowledged.x
According to the APA survey cited above, 94% of parents have taken
some action to manage their child’s technology use, but it is both
unrealistic and a poor long-term business strategy to ask parents to
fight this battle alone. Imagine the goodwill Apple can generate with
parents by partnering with them in this effort and with the next
generation of customers by offering their parents more options to
protect their health and well-being.
To be clear, we are not advocating an all or nothing approach. While
expert opinions vary on this issue, there appears to be a developing
consensus that the goal for parents should be ensuring the
developmentally optimal amount and type of access, particularly
given the educational benefits mobile devices can offer. For example,
Professor Twenge’s research cited above has revealed peak mental
health levels among teenagers who use devices 1 hour or less a day,
with teens engaging in this limited use happier than teens who do not
use devices at all. According to a study of more than 10,000 North
American parents conducted by researcher Alexandra Samuel, the
children of parents who focus primarily on denying screen access are
more likely to engage in problematic behaviors online than the
children of parents who take an active role in guiding their
technology usage.xi
Likewise, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Center for
Research on Media, Technology, and Health have found that while using
a high number of social media platforms daily is linked to depression
and anxiety in young adults, using a limited number does not have the
same impact.xii
While these studies (and common sense) would suggest a balanced
approach, we note that Apple’s current limited set of parental
controls in fact dictate a more binary, all or nothing approach, with
parental options limited largely to shutting down or allowing full
access to various tools and functions. While there are apps that
offer more options, there are a dizzying array of them (which often
leads people to make no choice at all), it is not clear what research
has gone into developing them, few if any offer the full array of
options that the research would suggest, and they are clearly no
substitute for Apple putting these choices front and center for
parents. As Apple understands better than any company, technology is
best when it is intuitive and easy to use. More importantly,
technology will continue to evolve as time goes on and play a greater
and greater role in all of our lives. There is a developing consensus
around the world including Silicon Valley that the potential long-term
consequences of new technologies need to be factored in at the outset,
and no company can outsource that responsibility to an app designer,
or more accurately to hundreds of app designers, none of whom have
critical mass.
This is a complex issue and we hope that this is the start of a
constructive and well-informed dialogue, but we think there are clear
initial steps that Apple can follow, including:
-
Expert Committee:
Convening a committee of experts including child development
specialists (we would recommend Dr. Rich and Professor Twenge be
included) to help study this issue and monitor ongoing developments
in technology, including how such developments are integrated into
the lives of children and teenagers.
-
Research:
Partnering with these and other experts and offering your vast
information resources to assist additional research efforts.
-
New Tools and Options:
Based on the best available research, enhancing mobile device
software so that parents (if they wish) can implement changes so
that their child or teenager is not being handed the same phone as a
40-year old, just as most products are made safer for younger
users. For example, the initial setup menu could be expanded so
that, just as users choose a language and time zone, parents can
enter the age of the user and be given age-appropriate setup options
based on the best available research including limiting screen time,
restricting use to certain hours, reducing the available number of
social media sites, setting up parental monitoring, and many other
options.
-
Education:
Explaining to parents why Apple is offering additional choices and
the research that went into them, to help parents make more informed
decisions.
-
Reporting:
Hiring or assigning a high-level executive to monitor this issue and
issuing annual progress reports, just as Apple does for
environmental and supply chain issues.
It is true that Apple’s customer satisfaction levels remain incredibly
high, which is no surprise given the quality of its products.
However, there is also a growing societal unease about whether at
least some people are getting too much of a good thing when it comes
to technology,xiii
which at some point is likely to impact even Apple given the issues
described above. In fact, even the original designers of the iPhone
user interface and Apple’s current chief design officer have publicly
worried about the iPhone’s potential for overuse,xiv
and there is no good reason why you should not address this issue
proactively. As one of the most innovative companies in the history
of technology, Apple can play a defining role in signaling to the
industry that paying special attention to the health and development
of the next generation is both good business and the right thing to
do. Doing so poses no threat to Apple, given that this is a software
(not hardware) issue and that, unlike many other technology companies,
Apple’s business model is not predicated on excessive use of your
products. In fact, we believe addressing this issue now by offering
parents more tools and choices could enhance Apple’s business and
increase demand for its products.
Increasingly today the gap between “short-term” and “long-term”
thinking is narrowing, on issues like public health, human capital
management, environmental protection, and more, and companies pursuing
business practices that make short-term sense may be undermining their
own long-term viability. In the case of Apple, we believe the
long-term health of its youngest customers and the health of society,
our economy, and the Company itself, are inextricably linked, and thus
the only difference between the changes we are advocating at Apple now
and the type of change shareholders are better known for advocating is
the time period over which they will enhance and protect value. As you
can imagine, this is a matter of particular concern for CalSTRS’
beneficiaries, the teachers of California, who care deeply about the
health and welfare of the children in their classrooms.
While you may already have started work on addressing the issues
raised here, we would nonetheless appreciate the opportunity to
discuss this matter further with the board to bring in a wider range
of voices. We also encourage you to discuss this matter directly with
Dr. Rich, Professor Twenge, or any member of JANA’s board of advisors
for our new impact investing fund, which includes Patricia A. Daly,
OP, Professor Robert G. Eccles, Sting, and Trudie Styler. In the
meantime, should you wish to contact us we can be reached at (212)
455-0900 or (916) 414-7410.
Sincerely,
Barry Rosenstein
Managing Partner
JANA Partners LLC
Anne Sheehan
Director of Corporate Governance
The California State Teachers' Retirement System
i.
“Growing Up Digital Alberta”. A
collaborative research project by Harvard Medical School Teaching
Hospital, the Center on Media and Child Health, Boston Children’s
Hospital, University of Alberta, and the Alberta Teachers’ Association
(2016)
ii.
Jean M. Twenge, PhD. iGen. New
York: Atria Books (an imprint of Simon & Schuster), 2017.
iii.
Id.
iv.
Id.
v.
Yalda T. Uhls, Minas Michikyan, Jordan Morris, Debra Garcia, Gary W.
Small, Eleni Zgourou, & Patricia M. Greenfield. “Five days at outdoor
education camp without screens improves preteen skills with nonverbal
emotion cues.” Computers in Human Behavior Journal (Oct.
2014): 387-392
vi.
American Psychological Association. (2017). APA’s Survey Finds
Constantly Checking Electronic Devices Linked to Significant Stress
for Most Americans: Stress in America™ poll shows parents struggling
to balance personal and family technology use [press release]
vii.
Influence Central. (2016) Kids & Tech:
The Evolution of Today’s Digital Natives
viii.
Common Sense Media. (2015). The Common Sense Census: Media Use by
Tweens and Teens
ix.
Common Sense Media. (2016). Technology
Addiction: Concern, Controversy, and Finding Balance
x.
James Vincent. (Dec. 11, 2017). Former
Facebook exec says social media is ripping apart society.
Retrieved from http://www.theverge.com (“He says he tries to use
Facebook as little as possible, and that his children ‘aren’t allowed
to use that shit.’”) and Mike Allen. (Nov. 9, 2017) Sean
Parker unloads on Facebook “exploiting” human psychology.
Retrieved from http://www.axios.com (“God only knows what it’s doing
to our children’s brains.”)
xi.
Alexandra Samuel. (Nov. 4, 2015).
“Parents: Reject Technology Shame.” The Atlantic
xii.
Brian A. Primack, Ariel Shensa, César G.
Escobar-Viera, Erica L. Barrett, Jaime E. Sidani, Jason B. Colditz, A.
Everett James. “Use of multiple social media platforms and symptoms of
depression and anxiety: A nationally-representative study among U.S.
young adults.” Computers in Human Behavior Journal (Apr. 2017):
1-9
xiii.
See e.g., Laurent Hrybyk. (Dec. 16, 2017).
The Other Tech Bubble. Retrieved from http://www.wired.com (“In
2008, it was Wall Street bankers. In 2017, tech workers are the
world’s villain.”); David Streitfeld. (Oct. 12, 2017). Tech Giants,
Once Seen as Saviors, Are Now Viewed as Threats. The New York
Times.
xiv.
Nick
Statt. (Jun. 29, 2017). The creators of the Product are worried
we’re too addicted to technology. Retrieved from http://www.theverge.com.
Kif Leswing. (Oct. 9, 2017). Company’s head of design says some
people ‘misuse’ Products – and it reveals a growing problem for
Company. Retrieved from
http://www.businessinsider.com
|
Copyright © JANA
Partners 2018 |
|