Owning an iPhone is often seen as a status symbol due to its premium pricing and association with luxury. Strong brand image, innovative features, user-friendly design, and Apple's extensive marketing and advertising are the other reasons behind the widespread popularity surrounding iPhones. The craze around the phone is so much so that people who can't afford to go to lengths to buy it. Recently, a video of a Chinese father kneeling to apologise to his teenage daughter because he could not afford to buy her an iPhone went viral, sparking debate.
According to South China Morning Post, the video was captured by a passerby in Taiyuan on May 4. In the clip, a teenage girl was seen yelling at his father for not being able to buy her an iPhone.
''Other parents can buy their children an iPhone. Why don't you have the money?'', the girl asked her father.
Unable to answer her, the father got down on his knees as a way to apologise for his financial incompetence. Meanwhile, the daughter felt embarrassed by the act and asked her father to "get up quickly.''
The person who filmed the video said he felt sorry for the man and rage towards the daughter. "I even felt an impulse to walk up to her and slap her," he said.
The video which has gone viral on several special media platforms in China, has sparked a discussion on parenting and teenage behaviour. While many rebuked the girl for her entitlement, others blamed the father and said that he should have taught her better.
"Consumerism has brought negative impacts on the youth. They are so obsessed with material comforts but ignore the hardships of their parents. It is a social tragedy!" said one user on Weibo.
''Of course, this father is pathetic, and his actions will propel the girl to be more rebellious. He did not point out the kid's mistake. He did a bad job parenting,'' another commented.
''I feel sorrow for the two. The daughter is very vain, but the father's kneeling is inappropriate,” a third person said.
A study conducted in Brazil found that low-income iPhone users feel that using an iPhone helps them feel more accepted in social groups and distinguishes them from the poorest people.
