Oh wow. I was all prepared to agree that it is a big smoking gun; and then I got to the "smart phones were invented in 2007."
I mean, not wrong? Ish. But phones were a much larger part of especially college age youth well before that. Were they as "smart" as what we have now? Of course not. But they still had tons of text and basic news capability for a long time.
I think it is still a strong correlation that does need to be shown as not causal. I cannot think they "sprang from nowhere" as implied by the claim, though.
Fair. I know I was in a fairly text messaging heavy subculture. I remember ICQ took over on the computer and many of the folks that were there would jump over to texting each other. So, I have to grant that things are different.
I mean, not wrong? Ish. But phones were a much larger part of especially college age youth well before that. Were they as "smart" as what we have now? Of course not. But they still had tons of text and basic news capability for a long time.
I think it is still a strong correlation that does need to be shown as not causal. I cannot think they "sprang from nowhere" as implied by the claim, though.