As the man who coined the term stated, a paradigm shift is “the successive transition from one paradigm to another via revolution”, where paradigms are the practices that define scientific discipline at certain points in time.

Paradigms shifts would be considered as any major changes in scientific thought, but are usually not limited to solely scientific changes. There can be cultural shifts, political ones, philosophical ones, etc.. The shift that this article mentions is mix of both scientific and cultural. It is scientific in that the shift is directly related to the introduction of the iPhone in the daily routine of teenagers, and cultural in that the effects of it impact the beliefs, values, and minds of the parties involved.

For a paradigm shift to occur, there must first be a generally accepted or practiced idea that comes before the influencer of the shift. In the case of this article, the idea is that many trends (sexual activity, sleep, suicide) in teenagers were consistent with previous generations. The shift in these trends generally occurs at 2007, when the first iPhone was introduced. After this point, these trends took directions that were not seen before (less likely to drive, have sex, be very social). This is a strong example of a paradigm shift because this event was very influential in altering the daily routines of children, along with their tendencies and mental health. There was such a sever impact that consistent trends for the past 30-40 years had been drastically altered. Some of these changes were beneficial (low homicide rates), but some were extremely detrimental and worrisome (high suicide rates). Paradigm shifts do not always have to occur for the betterment of people, some shifts, like this, could be seen as more negative than positive. This instance follows the criteria for a paradigm shift and it is one that is very relevant to todays time.

Two questions that this article leaves me with are: Can paradigm shifts only affect a certain group a people and still be called a shift? And, are there reversions into previous trends that are caused by a subsequent paradigm shift? For the first question, I wondered if there were profound effects on other age groups. I noticed that she didn’t mention how cell phones affected older people, so, depending on the widely accepted definition of  a paradigm shift, this could possibly not be considered on if the scope of the affected people is too small. For the second question, I would have to look deeper in previous cultural and political paradigm shifts to see if there was any reversion. I there has not been one yet, then there definitely will be, and I could see the first one being with the use of smartphones declining as the long-term effects are more widely seen in the future.