Cell phones.

I believe Chuck Byers’ comment is anecdotal, but it does make a point. The enculturalization of technology (and invisibility) is stronger than ever before.

“…15-year-old girls are now the world’s top consumers of computer chips…“

enculturalization – ( in · kul’ · tchur · uhl · lah · zay’ · shun ) – the process of integrating cultural characteristics; an intended or accidental result of prolonged socialization within the bounds of a distinct cultural context. (Source)

Children these days get cellphones as early as elementary school…

“Teenagers have adopted this technology very aggressively, in part because it’s inexpensive now, and it’s mobile — and everything a teenager does is about being mobile and untethered,” said David Greenfield, a professor of clinical psychiatry at the University of Connecticut. “With the complexity of our world and the scheduling kids have compared with 25, 30 years ago, it’s a newer way of connecting socially.”

But it fills an age-old need that dates to adolescents slouching out to meet other prehistoric pubescents.

“All young generations interact socially, and part of their adolescence is interacting apart from their parents; that’s been true since the Neolithic revolution,” said economist and historian Neil Howe, who as co-author of the book “Millennials Rising” chronicled the social and cultural direction of millennials — those born in 1982 and later. “Millennials are using the technology to express a need to push in a fundamentally different direction: back toward reconnecting people to larger groups,” Howe said.