投资者敦促苹果解决儿童玩手机成瘾问题
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.
苹果(Apple)的两家投资者正向这家iPhone制造商施压，敦促其应对智能手机成瘾以及儿童使用手机的心理健康影响方面的关切。维权投资者瞄准公共健康问题而非财务问题实属罕见。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和加州教师退休系统(California State Teachers’ Retirement System)上周末致信苹果提出它们的担忧。加州教师退休系统是一家养老基金，持有逾15亿美元的苹果股票。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.
这两家投资者表示，儿童和青少年使用智能手机可能产生“意想不到的负面影响”，它们呼吁苹果就这个问题进行研究，并提供手机设置限制儿童的使用时间和看到的内容。
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.
它们在这封信中称，心理健康担忧可能最终会导致监管反弹，这将损害苹果的长期财务表现。《华尔街日报》(Wall Street Journal)报道了这封信的内容。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.
这两家投资者表示，它们正与包括圣迭戈州立大学(San Diego State University)心理学教授琼?特文格(Jean Twenge)在内的学者合作。特文格创造出了“i世代”(iGen)一词，指对智能手机上瘾的儿童这新一代人。“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.”
“不夸张地说，i世代正处于几十年来最严重的心理健康危机的边缘，”特文格去年在《大西洋月刊》(The Atlantic)的一篇文章中写道，“很多问题可以追溯到他们的手机。”
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和加州教师退休系统的持股占苹果总股本的不到1%，但它们认为，智能手机成瘾问题可能会引起用户和投资者的共鸣。苹果市值为8900亿美元。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.
苹果最近向驾车者发讯息造成的交通事故所引发的担忧低头，给出了一个试图阻止用户在驾车时发讯息的软件升级。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.
其他科技公司最近开始承认并应对它们最年轻用户的问题。Facebook去年为低至6岁的儿童推出了一款消息应用，其中包含许多家长控制选项。Apple and Calstrs did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Jana confirmed the letter.
苹果和加州教师退休系统未马上回应记者的置评请求。Jana证实存在上述信函。
