iPhone Owners No Longer Shaking Babies

[Michael Grimm]

iPhone Owners No Longer Shaking Babies

Apple removes an infantile iPhone app after outcries from child welfare groups.

The app in question involved a drawing of a sad baby that would cry until finally shaken by the iPhone user, at which point the baby would stop crying and receive two red "X"s over its eyes. Despite the app's "gameplay," it includes the message: "Never, never shake a baby."

After somehow making it past Apple's approval process, several child welfare groups caught wind of the app and are now demanding an apology from Steve Jobs himself.

"Not only are they making fun of Shaken Baby Syndrome but they are actually encouraging it. This is absolutely terrible," said Marilyn Barr, founder of the National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome and a board member of the Sarah Jane Brain Foundation.

Apple's app approval process is fairly stringent, forbidding programs that have "any obscene, pornographic, offensive or defamatory content or materials of any kind (text, graphics, images, photographs, etc.) or other content or materials that in Apple's reasonable judgment may be found objectionable by iPhone or iPod touch users."

While the app is certainly tasteless, it is quite obviously a joke and the forced outrage from the shaken baby groups seems a bit much. Far be it from me to discredit the opinion of someone who has lost a child to shaken baby syndrome, but any child whose parent would be stupid enough to actually follow this app's advice would not be long for this world anyway.

Source: <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30354894/"
target="_blank">MSNBC.com


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[Syntax Error]

The app in question involved a drawing of a sad baby that would cry until finally shaken by the iPhone user, at which point the baby would stop crying and receive two red "X"s over its eyes. Despite the app's "gameplay," it includes the message: "Never, never shake a baby."

And how does that encourage Shaking of babies?

 

[purplegothchick]

I agree that the app is a bit sick, but I don't believe that anyone would play it and think "Hm, that seems like a larf, what a good idea, I think I'll shake a small child til it dies now!". I think it's PC gone mad again...

 

[scotth266]

I agree that the app is a bit sick, but I don't believe that anyone would play it and think "Hm, that seems like a larf, what a good idea, I think I'll shake a small child til it dies now!". I think it's PC gone mad again...

All that needs to be said. This is either:

A) A bad joke

or B) A attempt to get people to realize that shaking babies is BAD.

I didn't make this, but if it was for reason A I'd apologize, as it is sort of tasteless.

 

[UltraBlumpkin]

Sounds like something that doesn't belong on the iTunes store either way, regardless of who is requesting it to be removed.

 

[Pipotchi]

How is Shaken Baby Syndrome a disease or syndrome. Its not like these babies are born with a gene thats makes them shake about like jackhammer. All it means is you killed your own child by shaking it which is assault, I find it curious there is a group set up about it. very odd indeed

 

[shMerker]

The game sounds very similar to Execution [http://gmc.yoyogames.com/index.php?showtopic=375097] to me.

 

[Impuls]

Lol, I nominate Marilyn Barr, the National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome and the Sarah Jane Brain Foundation for the dumbass award.

ps.

the game mentioned above is a really good one.

even though I find it a little bit hypocrite, I mean they give you a gun, the game is called execution and there is 1 person on the whole screen tied up to a pole. They are almost asking you to shoot.

They could just as well set you infront of a soccer goal, let you score and make the message "lol that was your own goal and it is the last minute noob, you lose with 0-1"

They are forgetting you are playing a game to do something, not because you want to stare at a screen for 7 min.

 

[DeadlyYellow]

Better title:
Outrage Over Shaking Baby App on iPhone Leaves Child Welfare Groups Shaken.

Okay, I'm sorry, that was rather tasteless. This is getting absurd though. Soon iPhone users will be stereotyped as more immature than XBL.

How is Shaken Baby Syndrome a disease or syndrome. Its not like these babies are born with a gene thats makes them shake about like jackhammer. All it means is you killed your own child by shaking it which is assault, I find it curious there is a group set up about it. very odd indeed

Maybe it's more of a lynch mob?

 

[Pipotchi]

Better title:
Outrage Over Shaking Baby App on iPhone Leaves Child Welfare Groups Shaken.

Okay, I'm sorry, that was rather tasteless. This is getting absurd though. Soon iPhone users will be stereotyped as more immature than XBL.

How is Shaken Baby Syndrome a disease or syndrome. Its not like these babies are born with a gene thats makes them shake about like jackhammer. All it means is you killed your own child by shaking it which is assault, I find it curious there is a group set up about it. very odd indeed

Maybe it's more of a lynch mob?

Ooh thats a much better title, its gets the point across and its a great pun. Whats not to
like?

 

[LeonLethality]

you know... i have SBS, and i really REALLY never cared about anything making fun of my problems hate people who think they can speak for all of us ESPECIALY if those activists dont have SBS themselves

 

[TsunamiWombat]

This made me laugh. This App would've probably made me laugh.

Hahaha.

...I feel bad now.

 

[Johnn Johnston]

Spoiler: Oddly relevant

 

[KaiRai]

Fuck PC, it sends a message.
People see that shaking a baby kills it, they won't do it. IF they still go ahead with it, they're just messed up in the head.
PC is only hating it because if someone did shake a baby to death and there was nobody to blame, they'd look like even bigger twats than they already are.

 

[mike1921]

I think they were making the point that it makes light of dead babies - that the app itself is one big dead baby joke..

Than let them make light of dead babies. Unless you need to kill several babies to use the iphone than the PC should just fuck off.

 

[IrrelevantTangent]

This sickens me on multiple levels.

 

[Baneat]

I agree that the app is a bit sick, but I don't believe that anyone would play it and think "Hm, that seems like a larf, what a good idea, I think I'll shake a small child til it dies now!". I think it's PC gone mad again...

All that needs to be said. This is either:

A) A bad joke

or B) A attempt to get people to realize that shaking babies is BAD.

I didn't make this, but if it was for reason A I'd apologize, as it is sort of tasteless.

Sounds like a VERY poor attempt at option B), so much it is viewed as A)

 

[I III II X4]

Better title:
Outrage Over Shaking Baby App on iPhone Leaves Child Welfare Groups Shaken.

Oh, that's brilliant!

Anyway, since it did display the message: Don't shake the baby! I'm not gonna condemn it for promoting baby shakin', I will instead condemn it on the grounds it will influence stupid people into doing stupid things...such as shakin' the baby.