I love the emotion this Apple ad evokes. The thoughtful video put together by the teenage introvert will be a touching highlight reel to always remember Christmas 2013.
But I have a problem with this 90-second spot. I don’t think most teenagers are recording and editing a family video while they’re staring at the 4-inch glowing screen in their hands. I think they’re busy being distracted on Instagram, SnapChat, Facebook, and Pinterest.
This commercial portrays a different reality than the one I experienced.
Everyone in my family on their phone after a relaxing dinner. My oldest sister was texting her boyfriend. My youngest sister was SnapChatting her college friends. My Dad was texting his entire family and looking up recipes. My Mom was figuring out texting herself. And I was checking my Twitter and RSS feeds.
We’ll never know the true statistics of what people did on their iPhones over the holidays, but I imagine there was a whole lot more SnapChatting and 1-click Amazon ordering than family video creating.
I’d love it if each person in my family was creating something to remember our time together. But if they’re choosing between being distracted and living in the moment, I’d rather have them talk to those of us around them.