The introductions of smartphones and other technology into the lives of teenagers in the 21st century should be considered a paradigm shift because the lifestyle of Americans today has experienced a mass change from only 20 years ago.  Everyday I wake up to the sound of “Twist and Shout” by The Beatles, I immediately reach for my phone to silence the alarm, then I set a timer for five minutes only to again reach for my phone when it starts blaring an annoying noise signaling a need for me to wake up.  Next as I brush my teeth and get dressed for the day I choose appropriate music to start my day off right- of course played off of my phone. Next before I head out the door I make sure to check Instagram to catch up on all of my friends lives, and respond to my Snapchats.  At this point in the day I have already used technology more time then my siblings did in a day at my age.

I am the youngest of four children, the oldest of my siblings being 11 years older than me.  It is remarkable to me how much has changed between the way that my sisters completed everyday tasks and the way that I do these activities.  For example in high school on the way to school everyday my sisters would play CD’s that they had burned their favorite songs onto. iPods had just been released and our cars didn’t have Aux cords so the only way they could listen to the music they wanted to without the radio was to burn CD’s.  Last year when I drove to school I would plug my phone in an play whatever Spotify playlist I was feeling for that morning.  My sisters also always describe frantically either hand writing papers or typing essays to turn into classes, while I’m always stressed about submitting assignments on time to Google Classroom or Canvas.  

Smartphones were not introduced into my sisters lives until college.  It is difficult to imagine my life without any smart phones because it has become so integrated into my routines.  I mean think about it, people used to when they were inviting people to things list landmarks near their homes and give directions to their house!  Now everyone just lists their addresses so people can type them into Google Maps and navigate to their house using smartphones.  

Technology including smart phones has completely changed the way that people live.  In a short period of time people have become completely reliant on the availability of information that they have in the grasp of their hand.  Smart phones have combined many applications that people used to have to carry around into one small unit. GPS, cameras, alarm clocks, timers, calculators, streaming services and even search browsers are now in one easy to use device.  Smartphones and other devices have created a paradigm shift because people’s lifestyles will always be reliant on the technology that is available now and will be introduced in the future.