Interesting figure that comes out of the article: 87% of US teens prefer iPhones. Also the explanations given aren't quite surprising, I guess it's mostly because of iMessage. Teens will feel like outcasts if they get an Android phone while their friends still use iMessage because of the green bubbles.
It's actually hilarious how we allowed consumerism to take us this far and that we have now peer pressure over smartphones.
“You’re telling me in 2023, you still have a ’Droid? [...] You gotta be at least 50 years old.”
My little brother refused to wear his new air walks to school any more because the kids told him they weren't real because the style he had used a lowercase a logo. Same energy.
Back in the mid 90's, Nike had the Air Modify Force / Air Adjust Force (can't remember which they were at the time) and the shoes came with a changeable strap with the Nike logo and came in a bunch of colors. You could buy just the strap and change one of the accent colors of your shoes, basically.
Poor dude in middle school got busted for putting that strap over off-brand shoes and they dragged him the rest of the year over that shit.
At least sneakers doesn't have a bunch of sensors, Internet connection and propietary software loaded, so by going with trend you won't compromise anything other than money.