Psst. Hey, kid. Wanna score a few bars of smartphone connectivity? Trust me, it’s good stuff; totally loaded with apps, a camera on both sides, and enough battery life to keep your buzz going all day long. All your friends are doing it. Here, you hold it for awhile. That’s it, try a few instagrams. Given our obsession with phones, it doesn’t seem like that much of a stretch to imagine someone dealing them on a street corner. It’s also worth noting that, among teens, the rise of the smartphone culture has been mirrored by a drop in drug usage. According the NYT’s Matt Richtel, “researchers are starting to ponder an intriguing question: Are teenagers using drugs less in part because they are constantly stimulated and entertained by their computers and phones?” (Let’s hope they don’t try both at the same time. That’s grown-up stuff…)

+ The rise of screen culture among young adults has come at time when there are fewer industrial jobs. A connection is seen in this area as well. “It looks as though some small but meaningful share of the young-adult population is delaying employment or cutting back hours in order to spend more time with their video game of choice.” From The Economist: Escape to another world.