Apple is facing pressure from two majors investors who want Apple to do more to study and combat phone addiction among kids. An open letter from the California State Teachers' Retirement System and New York-based Jana Partners LLC, who control around $2 billion Apple shares, expresses growing concerns about how devices and social media are affecting children.
The letter cites studies and surveys on how heavy use of smartphones and social media negatively affect children's mental and physical health. The letter calls on Apple to "play a defining role" in helping with the development of future generations:
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
One remedy the investors would like to see is enhanced mobile device software so parents have more options for protecting their kids' online. They want parents to be able to easily limit their child's screen time and be able to monitor what their kid is doing online. They also hope the data can be used in future studies.
According to Yahoo Finance Jana Partners LLC was founded "to target companies it believes can be better corporate citizens."
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