So after the initial crying and "goddammit, Apple, give me a break, I'm sensitive at this time of year!" screaming, your response to this ad is probably one of two things:
- Wow, they thought he wasn't paying any attention to them, but he was making a video, that's so sweet.
- What a fucking asshole, no one wants to see your stupid video. Put down the phone and have a normal conversation with your family.
If you thought number 2, you probably think you're pretty great. You're also like half of the internet, mostly the people who hate Apple and forgot what it was like to be 13.
I've read some defenses of the ad, most notably Kottke, which are very good arguments for documenting your life and general reflection on what is happening. But that is not the point of this ad. In fact, even if you thought number 1, you probably assume the ad is about how teenagers are misunderstood and you shouldn't judge them. Also not the point of this ad.
The point of this ad is that Apple products bring people together. That's a pretty stupid, generic marketing point, but like all good marketing it's done in a profound way. See, teenagers hate the world. They don't like to interact with family, they hate to be sentimental, and they try as much as possible to avoid doing stuff with anyone who isn't a teenager. This isn't Apple's fault, because I was a teenager when Apple was basically nothing and it was totally true. It's also not the smartphone's (or the computer's, or even the internet's) fault, because those things either sucked or didn't exist when I was a teenager, and I still went to my room and read comics or listened to punk rock and gangster rap or ate a whole bag of chocolate covered pretzels while watching Mr. Show.
This is why when anyone says Apple is missing the point and kids should put down their phones and live in the moment, they aren't doing anything different than people who told youngsters who used the telegraph machine that they weren't enjoying each other's company. Have you ever seen a shrill parent tell their teenager they should stop what they are doing and spend time with them, whereupon the teenager says "Oh shit, you're right, I should live in the moment, thanks Mom/Dad!" (The parent is dual-gendered in this example.) No. This has never happened.
What happens in "Misunderstood" is the shy teenager that doesn't like spending time with his family is actually in the moment. He's not using technology to hide in his room, he's using it to connect with people in the only way he can, in the way he enjoys. This is a larger-and-cheesier-than-life example of what really does go on in the real world today - where messaging makes friends immediately and casually accessible and any teenager can find his or her niche community to be engaged with.
You can disagree that what smartphones do is worthwhile, and you can certainly be annoyed at everyone constantly glancing down at their phones, but when you decide that they are harming our interactions, that's when they become misunderstood. Like every technology and innovation ever (even coffeehouses), smartphones will continue to be shit on until the people who grew up with them are the only ones left. Don't worry, though, I'm sure there will be plenty for everyone to misunderstand then.
The point of this ad is that Apple products bring people together. That's a pretty stupid, generic marketing point, but like all good marketing it's done in a profound way. See, teenagers hate the world. They don't like to interact with family, they hate to be sentimental, and they try as much as possible to avoid doing stuff with anyone who isn't a teenager. This isn't Apple's fault, because I was a teenager when Apple was basically nothing and it was totally true. It's also not the smartphone's (or the computer's, or even the internet's) fault, because those things either sucked or didn't exist when I was a teenager, and I still went to my room and read comics or listened to punk rock and gangster rap or ate a whole bag of chocolate covered pretzels while watching Mr. Show.
This is why when anyone says Apple is missing the point and kids should put down their phones and live in the moment, they aren't doing anything different than people who told youngsters who used the telegraph machine that they weren't enjoying each other's company. Have you ever seen a shrill parent tell their teenager they should stop what they are doing and spend time with them, whereupon the teenager says "Oh shit, you're right, I should live in the moment, thanks Mom/Dad!" (The parent is dual-gendered in this example.) No. This has never happened.
What happens in "Misunderstood" is the shy teenager that doesn't like spending time with his family is actually in the moment. He's not using technology to hide in his room, he's using it to connect with people in the only way he can, in the way he enjoys. This is a larger-and-cheesier-than-life example of what really does go on in the real world today - where messaging makes friends immediately and casually accessible and any teenager can find his or her niche community to be engaged with.
You can disagree that what smartphones do is worthwhile, and you can certainly be annoyed at everyone constantly glancing down at their phones, but when you decide that they are harming our interactions, that's when they become misunderstood. Like every technology and innovation ever (even coffeehouses), smartphones will continue to be shit on until the people who grew up with them are the only ones left. Don't worry, though, I'm sure there will be plenty for everyone to misunderstand then.
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