投資者敦促蘋果解決兒童玩手機(jī)成癮問題

Two Apple investors are pressuring the iPhone maker to address concerns over smartphone addiction and the mental health effects of phone use among children, in a rare example of activist investors zeroing in on a public health issue rather than financial matters.

蘋果(Apple)的兩家投資者正向這家iPhone制造商施壓，敦促其應(yīng)對(duì)智能手機(jī)成癮以及兒童使用手機(jī)的心理健康影響方面的關(guān)切。維權(quán)投資者瞄準(zhǔn)公共健康問題而非財(cái)務(wù)問題實(shí)屬罕見。

Jana Partners and the California State Teachers’ Retirement System, a pension fund that holds more than $1.5bn of Apple shares, issued a letter to the company over the weekend outlining their concerns.

Jana Partners和加州教師退休系統(tǒng)(California State Teachers’ Retirement System)上周末致信蘋果提出它們的擔(dān)憂。加州教師退休系統(tǒng)是一家養(yǎng)老基金，持有逾15億美元的蘋果股票。

They say there could be “unintentional negative side effects” of smartphone use by children and teenagers, and call on Apple to research the issue and provide phone settings limiting children’s screen time and content.

這兩家投資者表示，兒童和青少年使用智能手機(jī)可能產(chǎn)生“意想不到的負(fù)面影響”，它們呼吁蘋果就這個(gè)問題進(jìn)行研究，并提供手機(jī)設(shè)置限制兒童的使用時(shí)間和看到的內(nèi)容。

In the letter, the contents of which were reported by the Wall Street Journal, the investors argue that mental health concerns could eventually lead to a regulatory backlash that would hurt Apple’s financial performance in the long run.

它們?cè)谶@封信中稱，心理健康擔(dān)憂可能最終會(huì)導(dǎo)致監(jiān)管反彈，這將損害蘋果的長期財(cái)務(wù)表現(xiàn)。《華爾街日?qǐng)?bào)》(Wall Street Journal)報(bào)道了這封信的內(nèi)容。

The two investors say they are working with academics including Jean Twenge, a psychology professor at San Diego State University, who coined the term “iGen” to refer to the new generation of smartphone-addicted children.

這兩家投資者表示，它們正與包括圣迭戈州立大學(xué)(San Diego State University)心理學(xué)教授瓊•特文格(Jean Twenge)在內(nèi)的學(xué)者合作。特文格創(chuàng)造出了“i世代”(iGen)一詞，指對(duì)智能手機(jī)上癮的兒童這新一代人。

“It’s not an exaggeration to describe iGen as being on the brink of the worst mental-health crisis in decades,” wrote Ms Twenge in an article in The Atlantic last year. “Much of this deterioration can be traced to their phones.”

“不夸張地說，i世代正處于幾十年來最嚴(yán)重的心理健康危機(jī)的邊緣，”特文格去年在《大西洋月刊》(The Atlantic)的一篇文章中寫道，“很多問題可以追溯到他們的手機(jī)。”

The holdings of Jana and Calstrs represent less than 1 per cent of Apple’s total shares — the company has an market capitalisation of $890bn — but they believe that the issue of smartphone addiction is one that could strike a chord with users and investors alike.

Jana和加州教師退休系統(tǒng)的持股占蘋果總股本的不到1%，但它們認(rèn)為，智能手機(jī)成癮問題可能會(huì)引起用戶和投資者的共鳴。蘋果市值為8900億美元。

Apple recently bowed to concerns over traffic accidents caused by drivers texting, with an update that tries to block users from sending texts while on the road.

蘋果最近向駕車者發(fā)訊息造成的交通事故所引發(fā)的擔(dān)憂低頭，給出了一個(gè)試圖阻止用戶在駕車時(shí)發(fā)訊息的軟件升級(jí)。

Other tech companies have recently started to acknowledge and address their youngest users. Facebook launched a messaging app last year for children as young as six, which includes heavy parental controls.

其他科技公司最近開始承認(rèn)并應(yīng)對(duì)它們最年輕用戶的問題。Facebook去年為低至6歲的兒童推出了一款消息應(yīng)用，其中包含許多家長控制選項(xiàng)。

Apple and Calstrs did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Jana confirmed the letter.

蘋果和加州教師退休系統(tǒng)未馬上回應(yīng)記者的置評(píng)請(qǐng)求。Jana證實(shí)存在上述信函。