A bunch of self-contradictory statements — that’s how we can sum up the announcements made at Apple WWDC, 2023 event. An array of tech products such as M2 Ultra, Airpods, phone-based new iOS17 update, macOS Sonoma update and above all the immersive Apple Vision Pro (a virtual reality headset) were announced, and after unveiling all these products, Apple CEO, Tim Cook presented a “mental health app”. 

According to a study conducted by Duke, the usage of technology leads to adverse effects in adolescents, including ADHD and mental health problems. Several studies have cited a similar impact of the use of phones on our mental health. Speaking in depth about the new updates and features introducing the tracking of mental health, it’s almost as if the company is pretending to be oblivious to the perils that some of their products are going to bring forth. Is Apple ever going to acknowledge its dark side in the name of health? 

Conquering The Mind?

Till date, Apple devices were concentrating on tracking physical health stats including ECG, but the company is now looking to prioritise ‘mental health’. Apple seems to have gotten its agenda confused when it claimed that the new development will ‘take care of mental health’. 

Apple users can use the Health and Mindfulness app that helps record a person’s feelings by selecting multidimensional shapes that represent emotions ranging from ‘very pleasant’ to ‘very unpleasant’, describe feelings such as grateful, worried, and even select associations that help club the reason for your feelings such as family, travel, etc. Akin to maintaining a journal, the steps defined are merely ways to track ‘how you feel’. But, in what ways do they address them? 

To promote increased use of gadgets, say in this case, using their products to track one’s set of emotions, is only fuelling mental unrest. With the constant checking and tracking of notifications and expecting a positive affirmation from a device will only worsen one’s anxiety and related mental discomforts. 

The added worry of data tracking remains a question. Though Apple claims to protect user data by storing the vitals in an encrypted form, Apple has given the option to share your health data with the healthcare provider a user chooses. Now, with the introduction of mental stats which are highly personal and sensitive, data tracking will remain a worry. 

Let’s Get the World Addicted 

Apple’s stance on prioritising health is an outright, laugh on the floor, hypocrisy at its best. In their press release, the company speaks about eye care and mentions how two behaviours, recommended by eye care providers, can help reduce the risk of myopia (short-sightedness) in children. One, spending more time outdoors, and two, viewing objects such as a device or a book at a distance. The company then goes on to introduce Apple Vision Pro which exactly does the opposite of that. 

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Promoting a world where one straps on a pair of ski-type of goggles and is able to master everything, may sound futuristic but the damage it can eventually cause to one’s health is probably unfathomable at the moment. Constant use of VR headsets is known to cause motion sickness, headaches and even ‘myopia’ — the very thing Apple is championing against. Apple claims that the R1 chip embedded in the headset is set to ‘dramatically reduce’ motion sickness, however it is something that only time will tell. 

Apart from physical discomfort, VR is said to affect one’s mental health too. In a study conducted on VR usage, it was concluded that the well-being of people with low self-esteem are negatively affected with high usage of VR. There has also been evidence of cases tending towards isolation and social anxiety amongst people who use this tech. 

Pretending to Care Sounds Cool 

You can’t have the cake and eat it too. But Apple wants to do both. Pushing for safety, at the same time product adoption will not go hand-in-hand. Talking about steps to protect children, there is a feature that indicates a ‘safe screen distance’ to prevent children from getting too close to the iPad screen. The Health App is said to track the amount of daylight which is detected from their Apple smartwatch – thereby pushing children to spend more time outdoors. On one extreme you have measures to help children and on the other you have enough distractions to ruin them — the perils of Apple will quietly continue.