from Fluto Shinzawa of the Boston Globe,
The telephone, the object with the funny dial and coiled cord that some of us employed in romantic pursuits with varying degrees of success, is a relic. Now, as Chris Heidelberger explains, young people open Snapchat on their phones to initiate the quest of companionship.
“From a parent’s perspective, you went from reluctantly giving it to them for convenience to, ‘It’s inevitable. They’re going to be behind if they don’t get it,’ ” said Heidelberger, a father of three, of the eventual parental concession to children’s mobile connectivity requests. “I have a 15-year-old now — a great, fun kid. If he’s not studying or playing hockey, he’s doing Snapchat or Instagram like 95 percent of his friends. It’s just the way it is.”
At 18 years old, Patrik Laine, Winnipeg’s goal-scoring prodigy, falls right into this window. Laine, like all of his peers, grew up with his phone with a greater level of engagement, for example, than 33-year-old teammate Chris Thorburn or 49-year-old coach Paul Maurice.
As the league trends younger toward players such as Laine, connectivity will run even deeper. With each passing season, the NHL will welcome players who are not just handy with their phones but practically helpless without them.
So it stands to reason that players will turn to their swiping fingers for all the information they require. This is where Heidelberger, as a CEO as well as a parent, believes he’s uncovered a demand at the rink.
continued plus more hockey topics...
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