‘Smart’ mobile communication technologies have ushered in new patterns of human-machine enmeshment that fundamentally alter the way people perceive, remember, think, communicate, act, and play. Over the past 2 decades, especially, these algorithmically enabled devices have diffused into human culture at an unprecedented pace and scale. Any so-equipped person can attest to the powerful effects such technological relation entails. However, tweens and teens today are particularly susceptible to these alterations given the largely unconscious nature of their enmeshment. The article begins with an important piece of techno-cultural history that frames the current state of affairs, then details a thematic sampling of data drawn from a multi-year ethnographic inquiry into the relationships these young people develop with their favorite machines. The article concludes with some practical suggestions, including structured interventions that can help address various cognitive and corporeal imbalances incurred through a smartphone-mediated life as the 2026 mid-terms and 2028 general election come into view for this consequential segment of the population.
Robert MacDougall (2026) studied this question.