Technology has advanced greatly in the past 10 years. The most popular purchase in these past 10 years has been the cell phone, specifically the iPhone. Apple released the first iPhone was in 2007. Since then, the people of America have felt that iPhones have a sustainability in their lives. This clearly shows that America has an unhealthy obsession with iPhones.
People have gone to the extreme to get their hands on an iPhone. According to the Huffington Post, there was a case in Pasadena, California where a supposed “businessman” hired local homeless people to wait in line at the Apple store to buy iPhones. He was supposed to pay the homeless people for doing so. He gave two vouchers to each homeless person and when one of the vouchers didn’t work, a fight broke out and he was escorted by police. People have also have tried exchanging sexual favors on websites for iPhones.
Another incident that happened while waiting in line at an Apple store, was that a woman traded her $2,000 Louis Vuitton for a better spot in line. The Huffington post said that weeks before a new iPhone launched in New York, people were already camping outside of the store. There was also a time where a teenage girl decided that her iPhone was worth losing her life. After running after a thief who took her iPhone, she jumped onto his car and the driver started to swerve back and forth in an attempt to get her off of his car. After falling off the car, she obtained injuries and later on died from them. The Huffington Post agrees that, “robbers have killed just to make a buck feeding the iPhone black market.” Despite the craze to get a hand on the iPhone, America is far behind when it comes to how we use our phones.
According to a survey, only 31.5% of Americans use their cell phone for sending text messages. Newsweek claims “One reason [we are lagging behind], simply put, is that here in the United States we’re stuck with a legacy infrastructure, and in the developing world they’re starting from scratch.” This has caused developing countries to create new forms of technology, jumping ahead of what American technology can do. For example, Americans use computers rather than cellphones for online banking. Computers aren’t widely available in developing countries, so they rely on their cell phones. America is expected to catch up when banks create mobile friendly services. Even though Newsweek says that “We might make the coolest phones in the world, like Apple’s iPhone, but when it comes to using them, we’re the laggards of the world.” iPhones are actually made in factories in China.
Political candidates in the 2016 presidential election think that Apple iPhones should be made in America. Steve Jobs once told Barack Obama that he doesn’t make iPhones in the United states because the labor is cheaper in China and they supply Apple with parts and supplies that are easier to retool than their American counterparts. If iPhones were to be made in America, Apple’s profits would be cut dramatically. The phones cost could increase by as much as $100. There are rare earth elements in iPhones that make the phone vibrate, are in the camera lenses, and are important for the phones transistors. China supplies 85% of the world with these elements. Konstantin Kakaes, article writer of The All-American iPhone, believes that “The iPhone is a symbol of American ingenuity, but it’s also a testament to the inescapable realities of the global economy.”
With Apple iPhones being the most popular electronic purchase in America, people would go overboard just to get a hold of one. Since there is data saying that America doesn’t use iPhones like they should, it shows that we don’t want the iPhone for the features but for the prestige. Even though it’s better for the phone, company, and country, our leaders would rather have iPhones be made in America than China. With that being said, it’s clear that Apple iPhones are an American obsession.
