After reading the article presented to us, titled “HAVE SMARTPHONES DESTROYED A GENERATION?” by Jean M. Twenge, I have come to a conclusion that the introduction of smartphones into our society has resulted in many paradigm shifts. In particular, the one I would like to pinpoint is that of high depression rates in teenage girls. This is a topic that hits close to home for me, because while reading the article, the story ran parallel to mine. The high rates of smartphones and depression walk hand in hand linked by social media. The idea that exclusion is so easily promoted over Snapchat, Instagram, and other sites is an understatement in my opinion. Its like a bomb goes off every time theres an event. Your feed is flooded for days with the same individuals at the same event, all showing their followers that they went out, or celebrated a birthday. I agree with Twenge, if you’re not invited, you’ll be painfully aware as you’re bombarded by snapchats and texts and instagram posts depicting in full detail what you weren’t invited to and can’t participate in. The advancement of technology in and within itself is a paradigm shift, and the tributaries that stem from this river such as social media and accessibility carry a heavier weight. The shift in suicide rates and depression amongst young girls has a direct tie to social media consumption and participation, and this is due to the shift of technology itself that puts iPhones in the hands of 13 year olds. Twenge’s article introduces an array of paradigm shifts comparing Gen X and the baby boomers to the iGen kids in mental health, technology accessibility, suicide rates, ideas of hanging out, and dating standards among others.

Photo curtesy of: https://www.digitaltrends.com/cell-phone-reviews/apple-iphone-x-review/