Apple's CEO wants us to spend less time on our iPhones. Somebody call the irony police

Have you heard the one about the iPhone boss telling people to spend less time on their iPhone? No, it isn't a joke. This week, in an interview on Good Morning America, Apple CEO explicitly said he doesn’t want people overusing iPhones.

“I don’t want people looking at the smartphone more than they’re looking in someone’s eyes; as if they’re scrolling endlessly,” Cook said. “This is not how you want to spend your day. Go out and spend it in nature.”

Putting aside the irony of being told to look into people's eyes by the CEO of the company behind a VR headset that literally gives people fake digital eyes, there's something undeniably cynical about the whole thing.

This is, after all, the man at the helm of the company that releases a new iPhone every year with the kind of fanfare usually reserved for royal weddings. And once you're in the Apple ecosystem, you are gently, persistently, nudged to upgrade, optimise, sync, share, track, and stay engaged. And now we're being told to touch grass?

Naturally, the response online has ranged from incredulity to full-blown satire. "Drug dealer thinks people should take less drugs," one X user comments. "When the studies inevitably prove their products can be harmful to us, there needs to be a trail of them saying the right thing. Cigarettes, plastic, fast food, etc," another adds. And plenty have drawn attention to those Vision Pro eyes.

Of course, on the face of it, Cook has a point. His message isn’t wrong. In fact, it’s refreshingly human for Apple (hey, the company does seem to be discovering its personality again). Screen fatigue is real, doomscrolling is real, and the creeping sense that we’re all slightly too online is… also real. So, yes, we should be looking at each other more than our phones. And yet, recent studies have shown that 61% of children aged 12 and under use a smartphone, and a somewhat horrifying headline declared that young people are on course to spend 25 years of their lives on their phones.

But 20 years after the launch of the original iPhone, Cook's comments feel a little late – or at least not particularly context aware. Apple hasn’t exactly built a business on moderation. It’s built one on desirability, habit, and seamless integration into every waking moment. The iPhone isn’t just a product; it’s a lifestyle hub. It’s your camera, your calendar, your map, your entertainment centre, your social life, your health tracker, and occasionally, your actual phone. And, they're being pumped out year after year, despite the updates feeling increasingly insignificant and incremental.

Of course, Apple would argue that it has made efforts to address phone addiction. Screen Time tools, Focus modes, notification controls; the company has introduced features that, in theory, help users manage their digital habits. But therein lies the paradox. The same company that builds ever more compelling reasons to pick up your phone is also building the mechanisms to help you put it down.

And maybe that’s the point. Cook isn’t really telling you to abandon your iPhone. He’s telling you to use it better, or at least, more intentionally. Step away from the noise, but don’t step out of the ecosystem entirely.

Still, the optics are hard to ignore. When your business depends on attention, advocating for less of it will always raise eyebrows. If he wants to seem truly tuned in to the problem, perhaps Cook ought to be telling us it's time to invest in a dumbphone.