Saturday Night Live brings to light the trivial complains of Americans and the new iPhone 5.
During SNL’s “Tech Talk” skit, three fictional tech bloggers from CNET, Gizmodo, and Wired were asked to state their problems with the new iPhone 5. The technies complained about the new Apple Maps Application, the camera, as well it’s new thin and lighter design.
After stating their problems, the talk show host Caitlin Owens, played by Christina Applegate, turned the table on the techies bringing out three peasant factory workers from a Chinese Factory.
The bloggers, who became very uncomfortable, were then forced to explain their problems with the iPhone 5 to the Chinese worker panelist. The workers listened to the bloggers complaints and fired back in satirical form. One worker, played by SNL’s Nasim Pedrad, proclaimed after a complaint about the Apple Maps Application, “Oh “I guess we’re just lucky we don’t need map, because we sleep where we work. Yeah, but thank you for pointing out problem.”
The skit was also well timed, after an October 6 report from CBS which showed 3,000 to 4,000 Chinese workers striking at Apple’s Foxconn plant, which makes the iPhone 5. The workers as well as quality inspectors went on strike against long work hours and increased quality control standards.
Most American’s expect their smartphones to do everything and we complain when it fails to meet our expectations. Jan Lauren Boyles and Lee Rainie with the Pew Internet Project, noted in their report, Mobile Phone Problems, that mobile phone users complain most about dropped calls, unwanted telemarketing calls, spam texts, and slow download speeds. Boyles went on to mentioned that Americans’ need for just in-time information leaves them wanting information in real time and when the technology fails they are left frustrated.
The skit which was satirical in nature brought up some significant points not only about the treatment of the workers that make Apple’s products but also the trivial complains we make about technology.