How does Gen Z — a generation so addicted to technology that they risk personal safety — signal that they're on the phone? They do what Alvarado's kids did on his TikTok video. They lift a hand, palm flat, to their ears, as if they were talking on a smartphone. But wait, that's not all. As BuzzFeed observed, kids these days have no idea why you'd need to "hang up" a phone either. "Mind-blowing," says Alvarado. And really, it is. 

It's not just about generational shifts in communications that are leaving everyone over 25 years old feeling like they're in the Paleolithic age. (If a Gen Z tried to signal to a Baby Boomer, "hey, call me," all they'd likely get in response is, "does your face hurt, darling?") No, Alvarez's video signals something much more mind-boggling: a shift to a world where our everyday, physical lives are defined by the applications we've installed onto a small, flat rectangle with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth capabilities. Not everybody's been asked along for the ride.