For the impact to be felt as a generational shift that is observable IRL, the social media had to reach a certain point of critical mass. The apps/algo needed to be tweaked for addiction. It also become a firehose of content that was pretty realtime, so as to induce FOMO

Things like Flickr was a social site that had absolutely no impact on anyone’s behavior. There was no FOMO because it was just something you browsed at your own pace. Async web forums and email became synchronous chats. The phone started spending more time in your hand than your pocket.

Even things like streaming television wasn’t a binary but an evolution. Netflix streaming started in 2007. It wasn’t until 2012 they became a producer and started the binge phenomenon by releasing a full series all at once. Those first five years practically didn’t matter for Netflix. Many people saw no advantage over the traditional DVD shipping service. Once binging began people were jumping onto the streaming service in droves. It still took a few more years to really reach a point of saturation. Then, there was massive cord cutting and birth of the streaming service landscape of today that is heavily fragmented. But also provides an unlimited supply of entertainment that keeps people appeased and out of meatspace.