Office Hours: Apple’s Investment in Healthcare, Should I Send My Child to Private School? and How to Introduce Social Media to Your Children

0:00Support for this show comes from Strawberry.me. Be honest. Are you happy with your job? Or are you stuck in one you've outgrown? Or never wanted in the first place? Sure, you can probably list the reasons for staying, but are they actually just excuses for not leaving? Let a career coach from strawberry.me help you get unstuck. Discover the benefits of having a dedicated career coach in your corner. Go to strawberry.me slash unstuck to claim a special offer. Avoiding your unfinished home projects because you're not sure where to start? Thumbtack knows homes, so you don't have to. Don't know the difference between matte paint finish and satin?

0:43Or what that clunking sound from your dryer is? With Thumbtack, you don't have to be a home pro. You just have to hire one. You can hire top-rated pros, see price estimates, and read reviews all on the app. Download today.

1:06Welcome to the PropG Pods Office Hours. This is the part of the show where we answer your questions about business, big tech, entrepreneurship, and whatever else is on your mind. If you'd like to submit a question, please email a voice recording to officehours at propgmedia.com. First question. Hey, Scott. My name is Sean Campbell. I'm based out of Tampa, Florida. Born and raised in South Florida in the Fort Lauderdale kind of barrier. I don't necessarily want to harp on the continued topic of VR and Apple going through this announcement. But my question to you is, I think in the long run, they might be looking at this from the perspective of enhancing the American health care system because of its faults and great variations.

1:54and the spread and expansion of virtual care, especially via the COVID error and before that as well, is something that I think more people are getting into. So I wanted to hear your thoughts on maybe Apple playing the long game on expanding the function and capabilities within their application and technologies for healthcare purposes, as well as VR in a virtual setting with healthcare. What are your thoughts there? And do you think that's something like Tim Cook is looking for in the long run? Thanks. So Sean from Tampa, Florida, I think your instincts are right. It's hard to imagine a brand that would more kind of elegantly provide a halo around a healthcare service.

2:40If you think about great hospital brands, I think I got to believe the majority of them would name Apple as an aspirational feel. It feels clean. It feels modern. if there was a hospital or a medical health system with an Apple logo on it, we'd all be inclined to trial it. User-friendly, strong command of technology, the interface. The thing that really breaks down with healthcare is not only the cost, but the interface between the system and us. And no one's better at taking a complex process and simplifying it in terms of the interface between a set of chip sensors and consumer than Apple. So Apple going into healthcare makes a lot of sense, not only from a brand fit.

3:22When you're doing$400 billion a year in revenue, you can't go after niches or you can't go after niches that you don't think will blow up into big, big markets. So I always thought that they'd go into either auto or healthcare. Now healthcare care would be really interesting. And the tell here is that four years ago in an interview with CNBC, Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple, said that Apple's greatest contribution to mankind would be related to health. So that was a bit of a tell that they might be working on something there. And then they launched their health app in 2014 and then released the Apple Watch a year later.

3:59The watch has been really their sort of bulwark or their Trojan horse into personal health care. Their There are features that track a user's heart health. There's an ECG app. There's notifications on whether you're having an arrhythmia, blood oxygen applications, women's health, sleep tracking, and the likes. Apple's attempting to take mental health more seriously. During the Worldwide Developer Conference in 2023, Apple revealed their new update to the watch, which prompts users to log their daily moods and momentary emotions. Sort of like a mood ring on steroids, I guess. Apple's also getting to the third-party developer.

4:36game. And according to Bloomberg, Apple is reportedly developing an AI-powered health coaching service named Quartz. That'll be an interesting IP discussion, isn't there? A media company called Quartz? Anyways, there are also a bunch of different directions it could go. New health sensors, ability to manage pharmaceuticals, AI-powered virtual wellness coaching. So yeah, this just makes a ton of sense. The question is, where do they move in? And can they beat Amazon, because my bet was on Amazon and healthcare, one, because they have your credit card, which Apple also has. It has the brand trust, which Apple also has.

5:11What Amazon has though, is fulfillment or seamless fulfillment around nutrition. Specifically, they have grocery and could start to take healthcare from a defensive on your heels posture to an offensive on your toes. And so I would imagine that Apple will, they're more, if it's on you, is it more seamless than, I don't know. I'm trying to think. They have an advantage around a body sensor. Amazon has more of an advantage around dispersion of content with their smart speakers versus a smartphone at Apple. I don't know, this feels like it should be a battle for all ages, which would be great because we want to see more competition in the healthcare space.

5:52I think Amazon might come in around health insurance. Now, as you walk in and Alexa says, hey, Galloway family, would you like to get your health insurance costs in half? If yes, say, tell me more about health insurance from Amazon Prime plus, plus, plus. So I thought they'd both be in it sooner. And I think they'll come at it from different directions. But I would imagine they're both going to get into it. And I don't see any reason why they wouldn't. when you're, again, a$3 trillion market cap company, you have to go after big carcasses. You have to attack blue whales. And the ultimate blue whale here, the biggest carcass in the world, the most disruptible business in the world, hands down, U.S.

6:31healthcare, where prices have increased faster than inflation for 40 years, and yet only one in five consumers are happy with their healthcare. So I think it's coming. I would feel confident that it's like a 90 % chance that Apple continues to make incremental investments in healthcare. And the question is, where will they overlap with Amazon? I think that would be a really fun competition or battle to look at. And I think the consumer would win there. So I don't have a ton of new insight. The one closing thought I will give you is that I would predict that Peloton is acquired by either Amazon or Apple in a bid to give them some sort of connected fitness device beyond what they already have.

7:10Thank you for the question. Next question. Hello, Scott. How are you? I enjoy your perspective on all things business and life. I see you as a thought leader. And as such, I'd be grateful for your advice on whether to send my two kids to a private or a public school. My daughters are five and seven. We're looking at new schools for them. The private school we're looking at offers a bilingual program in Spanish, which is very important for me. also teaches the international baccalaureate curriculum, the IB curriculum. Also, graduates of this school go to top universities, some of them, I'm sure not all of them.

7:54The problem is, it's going to be$100 ,000 a year for both of my girls to go to this school. And basically, I'm looking at over a million dollars before they go to college. So I have several questions, and I would love your perspective on this. One is, is the IB curriculum, the International Baccalaureate Curriculum, a plus in college admissions? Two, does it make sense to spend all this money? Is it worth the money? And yes, we can afford it, but it's also a big chunk of money. Three, by going to a top expensive private school, do they have a better chance to get into a top university? I know this is a controversial subject because it shouldn't be the case.

8:50I would love your thoughts. Thank you. Thanks for the question. I think this is a question a ton of parents struggle with. And I believe I have some domain expertise on higher education, but not on primary. I don't know the stats there. What I would say is just relating or empathizing with the position. We lived in Manhattan, and when my oldest was ready to go to pre-K, we applied to a bunch. We applied to seven private Tony schools downtown, and they were, I think,$40 ,000 or$50 ,000 a year, soon going to$58 ,000. Plus, in a couple of the interviews, they asked us how philanthropic we were, i.e.

9:30how much money you're going to give us. So we were looking at$100 ,000 or$130 ,000 post-tax in Manhattan, which is like a quarter of a million dollars a year, to send our kids to a place where, at least at that age, we're going to play with blocks. And then to add insult to injury, we applied to seven schools. And my son, who was speech-delayed at the time, we got rejected from all seven. And it was really upsetting for me. I remember saying or thinking, you know, I've been single and an entrepreneur most of my life. I'm used to rejection, but I'm just not used to it for my four-year-old son. And we left Manhattan literally because of the private school, I don't know, elitism, caste system, trauma, whatever it is.

10:13And we moved to Florida and thought, okay, I've always talked a bit about public schools. I went to public school all the way through graduate school. UCLA undergrad, Berkeley for graduate school, and then K-12, all public schools. And then you become much less of a purist when it's your kid. And it comes down to a few things. One, what is the public school option relative to the private school option? Most private schools, to charge that kind of money, have pretty good offerings. So the question is, what is the analog around the public school? There is one study that shows when socioeconomic factors were taken to account and controlled in the study that all the benefits associated with private schooling cease to exist.

10:51In other words, when adjusted for socioeconomic status, the outcomes for kids from public schools are just as good as private schools. Having said that, it is very case-by-case. The best public schools in America are the best in the world, and the worst in America are some of the worst in, I won't say the world, but are just not great. So this is obviously, it's like real estate. It's very much a local business or a local assessment. With$100 ,000 a year, and it sounds to me like you're affluent, but you're not rich, so to speak, which is blessed, but money still matters like it does to the vast majority of people.

11:30$100 ,000 a year, if there's a good public school option, I would argue you can create a lot of opportunity and wonderful moments in your family in terms of travel. I mean, maybe even renting a slightly bigger place. The fact that your daughter's parents won't be quite as stressed about money, which is a huge source of stress. So the big question or the information that we're missing here is what is the analog? What is the option, the public school option? In Florida, the public school options for us were pretty unappealing. And so we decided to go the private school route. Having said that, a lot of the research shows that it's more about the kids' friends and the specific teacher than the school.

12:15And the personal advice I would give to somebody is that you underrate the importance of logistics, and that is pick the school that's closest to you and pick the school that's going to make your life the easiest. In terms of college, I just would take that out of the equation. I think to be planning for college when your kids are this young is sort of letting the tail wag the dog. I would talk to a bunch of parents at the local public school and at the private school. And then you and your husband obviously have to make this call. Anyways, thanks so much for the thoughtful question. It's something we all struggle with.

12:49And I think we all second guess ourselves after we make the decision. Best of luck to you and yours. We have one quick break before our final question. Stay with us.

13:00Support for the show comes from Train Dreams, the new film from Netflix. Train Dreams is a film that stays with you. It's about a man standing alone against the backdrop of a changing America. What makes it powerful isn't the scale of a story, but its simplicity. It's a reminder that a life doesn't have to be big to be meaningful. That quiet endurance, grace, and decency are their own kind of heroism. In a world obsessed with progress, Train Dreams asks us to take pause and reflect on our relationship with loss, nature, and the need to belong. And maybe that's the modern journey, not domination or conquest, but learning how to live with change, grief, and tenderness without losing our sense of purpose.

13:39Train Dreams captures the tension between progress and preservation between the machines that build our world and the nature that still defines it. In a time when we're all searching for purpose, Train Dreams feels timeless because the frontier isn't just a place, it's a state of being. Train Dreams, now playing only on Netflix.

14:02The world is buzzing with AI tools, but instead of making things easier, they've made things overwhelming. There's a better way. Enter Superhuman, the AI productivity suite that gives you superpowers so you can outsmart the work chaos. With Grammarly, Mail, and Coda working together, you get proactive help across your workflow. Experience AI that meets you right where you are. Unleash your superhuman potential today. Learn more at superhuman.com slash podcast. That's superhuman.com slash podcast.

14:43Welcome back. Question number three. Hi, Scott. This is Jen calling from Toronto. I'm a former retail exec who recently left the workforce to achieve some balance in my family's life. So I now basically manage all the details of our household, and I do most of the heavy lifting where parenting is concerned. I listen to you every day, and not only do I sincerely value your perspective on how to be a solid human, but your insights on business and tech helps keep me intellectually challenged, which is much needed in my new domestic role. So thank you, thank you, thank you very much for opening your brain to us every week.

15:19I have a 12-year-old daughter, and this is the first year that she's had her own cell phone, and it seems that this is the year that, quote-unquote, everyone in her class is on social media. She doesn't have social media yet and hasn't really expressed much of an interest. However, my husband and I have told her that when she does want it, she should let us know, and we will talk to her about it and introduce her to it together. So I would love your thoughts on two things. One is how would you recommend we introduce her to social media? What warnings or guiding principles would you share with her?

15:55And how would you frame the potential dangers for her? And number two, what rules and monitoring would you put into place around her usage in the first couple of years? And would you be transparent with her about how we're going to monitor her activity? So far, she's a rural-biting kid, so we don't have any immediate concerns. We do want to give her the appropriate amount of independence. But at the same time, we are very intentional and involved parents. And not to mention the fact that these new blind spots for us kind of scare the shit out of us. So would love your thoughts on that. Thanks so very much.

16:34Really appreciate it. Jen from Toronto, thanks so much for the question. And let me be clear, we have not figured this out. One of my sons developed device addiction. You'd think I'd be the last person that would let that happen because I braille on these companies. And yet we woke up one day and realized our son was really struggling and it was because of device addiction. In addition, I think that both my kids are, especially one of them, is showing semi-addictive behavior to social media platforms. The research is just clear. It's worse for you, quite frankly, because you have girls. Boys bully physically and verbally.

17:09Girls bully relationally. And we have put these nuclear weapons in our hands called a smartphone. And once social went on mobile in 2012, the hospital admissions for self-cutting, self-harm, teen depression, teen suicide skyrocketed for girls and escalated dramatically for boys. So my first piece of advice is if your daughter is not asking for these things, you know, my general advice is to keep them off of it as long as possible. And here's the hard part. When people say, well, OK, your kid's struggling from social media or depressed, that's your fault. They recommend the dosing. They recommend, well, it's about parental involvement.

17:51Anyone who says that doesn't have kids. Because the most recent research, I believe it's from Jean Twenge, I believe her name is, I might have gotten that wrong, and Jonathan Haidt, is there's something called the cohort effect. And that is, once everyone is on SNAP, when you're the kid that's not on it because you don't know how to modulate it or it really attacks your self-esteem, you, in fact, become very depressed because you are ostracized and you are isolated and sequestered from the rest of your peer group. So there's kind of no winning. And what Professor Height has advocated for, and I think is absolutely right, is to have schools ban phones up until a certain age.

18:30Now, assuming at some point she does enter the Brave New World of smartphones and social, I can tell you what we do. And that is they are not allowed to take their phones into the room at night. There's been a lot of studies showing that a lot of kids or the number of teens who are sleep deprived has escalated because their phone is next to them. They hear it buzz. They pick it up. They start talking to their friends and it goes downhill from there. Also, we try and limit the amount of screen time. We try. We're not great at it. And also, and this sounds very 1984, and initially we didn't do it, but now we do it.

19:07We check their accounts and we check their content. I have wonderful boys that are really well-behaved, and I've had already two incidences, one involving bullying and two around really ugly language that my kids were not directly involved in, but part of a circle. And it's just, I mean, wouldn't you like to find the people who invented this shit and just kick them in the nuts a few thousand times? It really has been a net negative. I think it's especially bad for girls because, you know, the notion, I don't think we can even imagine what it's like to be faced with your full self, to be presented with your full self 24 by 7.

19:48And then you have algorithms that encourage you to say outrageous things or that overly sexualize young girls, specifically Instagram. I mean, the deck is just so stacked against them. For me, what I try and do with my boys, because I think my boys have an easier time relating to me on certain things than they do their mother. I sit them down. I try and sit them down once a week. I'm like, what's going on with you? Are you doing okay? And what I try to communicate is that, look, if something bad happens online, this is the deal. I'm going to try and be generous and not judge you and not get mad at you.

20:20Maybe you do something really stupid here and something bad happens. I'm going to give you a bit of a hall pass on this stuff. And in exchange for that hall pass, you're going to come to me when something happens that upsets you. because what you don't want, and where real tragedy strikes here, is that something bad happens online and the kids suffer in isolation and the parents don't even know about it. They don't even know about it. A kid gets bullied online, starts having suicidal ideation, goes down a rabbit hole at night, and the parents don't even know what is going on because if your kid develops an addiction to meth or alcohol or shoplifting, you find out about it.

21:00I mean, there's just certain externalities. There's certain functions of those behaviors. There's certain ramifications. You know, the kid has an addiction to alcohol. Before you know it, you're going to figure it out, right? So you can intervene. That's the dangerous thing about these insidious devices is that a lot of times the bullying, the mental health issues can pop up and get very bad very fast without you even knowing. So let me finish where I started. I know our household hasn't gotten this figured out. And congratulations, if she's not asking for it, I just don't think you're gonna regret your 12-year-old daughter not having a smartphone or being on social.

21:38If she shows up a little bit late to it, I showed up a little bit late to alcohol and drugs. I enjoyed both of those things, but I'm glad I didn't do any of those things until I was in college. And I think we're gonna look back and the one thing we're gonna regret most about tech Big Tech is not that they weaponized our elections, not that they made our discourse more coarse, not that they created more income inequality, not that they abused the monopoly power. We're going to look back on this era and we're going to say, how did we let this happen to our kids? So, Jen, you are thinking the right way.

22:10I think you need to be all over this stuff. Appreciate the question. Best of luck to you and yours. That's all for this episode. If you'd like to submit a question, please email a voice recording to officehours at propgmedia.com. Again, that's officehours at propgmedia.com.

22:34This episode was produced by Jennifer Sanchez and Caroline Shaverin, and Drew Burrows is our technical director. Thank you for listening to the Prop G pod. From the Vox Media Podcast Network, we will catch you on Saturday for No Mercy, No Malice, as read by George Hahn and on Monday with our weekly market show.