honestly? if you were in the 8-14 year old range in 2000, golden. once. 2005-2006 hit, thats when we hit peak tech-normie saturation, and everything started going to shit. if the 90s thru to 2004 was the tech renaissance, the following years became the dark ages. culture shifted, creativity stifled, attitudes changed and people became less human and more like drones quadrupling down on whatever social programming they were being fed. i remember feeling this unmistakable shift among peers when i turned 15. it never recovered. i feel like kids/teens having easier access to cell phones in general was the shift that drove this, not specifically smart phones (though that didnt help). it became a romanticized commodity in all media that teens were consuming (even music videos) showing artists creating drama on their phones with their social groups and more. once everyone was taught having friends and obsessing over hierarchies in your social scenes in the single most important thing in the world, everything went to complete shit. before phones, that garbage stayed at school or in private circles. then it got broadcast to everyone, all the time. kids couldnt escape it, so it drove up anxiety, fomo, and the endless need for constant attention and validation you see today. when smartphones hit, it just made it easier to do, it didnt create it.
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