Researchers say that not all of the “shaping” has been good.
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Last year, when Apple celebrated the 10th Anniversary of the iPhone and launch of iPhone X, CEO Tim Cook boasted:
Having sold over one billion units and enabling millions of apps that have become essential to people’s daily routine …
The iPhone redefined how consumers live, work, communicate, and entertain.
I chalked it up as marketing hype, but then …
Then I started reading a book (coincidence?) called iGen: Why Today’s Super-Connected Kids Are Growing Up Less Rebellious, More Tolerant, Less Happy–and Completely Unprepared for Adulthood.
The author is Jean Twenge, a psychology prof with a specialty in “generational differences” who is credited with coining the newest generation “iGen”.
Prof Twenge agrees with Cook’s basic claim that the iPhone has redefined life.
But, she argues, not all of the redefinition is positive … specifically highlighting the decline in in-person social interaction and a sharp rise in mental health issues among iGens.
Let’s start at the beginning ….