Image from Business Clan

The age of the smart phone has come, and with it the rise of a new generation, igen. Technological advancements have fundamentally changed the way people behave and view them selves. Social networking has never been easier than it is right now, and this is a great thing, for the most part. People are more able now than ever to be able to communicate with anyone anywhere in the world. Gone are the days of having one phone in the house that runs a party line that your neighbor can listen to. Gone are the days of Polaroid picture albums, and normal face to face interaction. When the iPhone was released in 2007, the world and society we live in Changed.

As more and more people got smart phones the need to actually talk to someone face to face has diminished. Even children less than nine years old spend more than two hours a day on a screen.                                   Image from CNN

The whole of society has changed. And it hasn’t just changed the way people communicate, but rather how people behave. With the rise of smartphones came crypto currency that has allowed people to be more discrete in their purchasing of goods and no longer have to know someone to get something. As I have just recently seen, people are also less likely to Carry Cash, something that was pessary for every interpersonal interaction that was done not that long ago.

Image from Dominos AP via The Washington Post

Now, instead of splitting a pizza with both parties involved by giving one person ten dollars to cover your half, you just Venmo them. People no longer want to meet face to face when they are buying something, but would rather just transfer the money and have you send whatever it is they are buying.

It is also a known fact that social media and the like has Influenced Society as a whole. As I said in a previous blog, I think the effects are much more concentrated in certain areas than others, but there is no doubt that the tendrils of social media has wrapped its fingers around everyone in the newest generation. People are now more self conscious than they have ever been, and some say that is due to seeing the IG models everyday. People are also less likely to seek their independence at the same age as their parents did on a national level.

This change has happened faster than most significant societal changes in history and has, and will continue to have far reaching effects on a national level. For now, as I see from my own personal experience, the effects are more relegated to more urban areas, but there is not doubt that they will eventually creep into every corner of our society. If we as a generation want utilize technology, something I assume most due, I think that it is important on understanding why it is impacting our society the way it is and how it can be better used to combat the toxic side effects that come with social media and instant messaging being so prevalent in everyones lives.