Ask Lemmy

I think originally because they used to be only for AT&T customers and were the most expensive, then android started flooding the market with cheap shitty phones.

Because they're teens

I don’t. I just use the phone because it works well with my laptop. My previous one was all banged up and scratched, so I wouldn’t really call it a status symbol.

I don’t really care about status though. My friends are a bunch of misfits. If it bothers you that people are using something as a status symbol, perhaps you’re more concerned about status than you realize. I’d love to just advise you to stop caring about that but it’s not that easy. Status seeking is a pretty common, normal behaviour.

I see mine for what it is. A phone. And a serious threat to my privacy. (I'm well into my 50s, if this matters)

As a grown adult, I don’t care what people think about phone brands or multi billion/trillion companies when compared with more of the same. But it’s like sports teams. It doesn’t mean much but it can be fun with friendly rivalries. People who take it seriously though? Not to be taken serious.

I use one because I value privacy. I also have an Android phone from 2019 I like more for a few reasons. I like both. I also like both Xbox and Nintendo. And I don’t hate PlayStation. I don’t use Windows, I use Macs, but at work I’m unofficial IT, people come to the Mac user for help with Windows 10/11 because I know that too, it’s just not what I use at home. I still have like 30 years of experience with Windows. I also have a favorite (gridiron) football team. And I’ll tell you why they suck but I’ll never stop rooting for them. (Don’t have a favorite (association) football club.)

I think tribalism is for people who use things to identify themselves. When you stop doing that, tribalism starts to look dumb.

Apple tells them to.

If there was another decent mobile phone, the same size as the SE, I would seriously consider it.

My daughter wanted an iPhone when she was in high school because her friends played the arcade games together on it. That was the only reason she wanted it.

Not a youngster, but I would say because it’s a simple choice. Don’t have to think which brand sporting Android is better and definitely don’t have to worry about what custom ROM to install. Troubleshooting between different models can be a pain. People just want something that works out of the box without having to be an expert.

1 choice (mainly) vs (too) many choices.

They bought it specifically for that purpose.

That’s why I make sure mine is old and cracked, dented, and scuffed to shit to make sure no one makes that mistake.

they haven't outgrown being incredibly stupid and some never will.

The only reason I have an iPhone is because our car only has Apple CarPlay installed (or whatever it's called). I can never go back to mounting my phone on the dash and using the tiny phone screen for maps and music.

I'm a college student and I don't feel this way at all. Maybe you'll get some quick jokes about being a poor Android user sometimes but it's mostly playful.

I convinced my college friend to try out Android and he likes his moto flip fold phone now.

Apple has cleverly made their phones a luxury symbol. In 2014, Apple hired the CEO of Burberry, Angela Ahrendts to be their Vice President. I believe this was the period when their Apple stores got a huge revamp to look all clean and minimalistic.

But in general, I don't think anybody really gives a shit. Even less so the ones ones who actually know about technology.