Upfront Magazine: The End of America's Car Culture?

In the Upfront Magazine article "The End of America's Car Culture?" it shows how recent studies have shown the decline in usage of cars in the last few decades. It shows that younger people have used less and less cars and instead other forms of transportation such as bikes or buses. It also poses a question of whether or not this could be the end of the cars era in the U.S. because of the decline of how popular they've been used as a mode of transportation.
One debatable question about this article is: Why do people today seem to have less interest driving and owning cars than their parents and grandparents did at the same age? There are many factors into the decline of using cars. The ages in which this decline has hit more powerfully is between 16-19. Back in the 20th century when cars first came out, gas was cheap, cars were a new invention, and it was a great way to interact with other people because you could just drive to their house. Nowadays some teenagers feel that the web is a much simpler and cheaper way of communicating with their friends instead of seeing them in person. For example it says in the article "Instead of driving to meet friends, young people use the Web to feel more connected" this may be one cause to less and less teenagers driving. Another example of what may be the cause to the decline in cars is "the resurgence of cities where shops and activities are within walking or biking distance-and where bike-sharing programs have sprouted in places like New York, Chicago, and San Francisco" this quote shows that bikes are becoming ever-so popular and as cities grow and progress, there are more activities to do in small areas so there is no need to travel long distances in order to get something. These two examples may some of the reasons that cars have become less and less popular in the last few years.
Another debatable point is: In the text, researcher Thilo Koslowski says, "The iPhone is the Ford Mustang of today." What does this mean? This is an analogy to compare the popularity of social media and inventions such as the iPhone to how popular the Ford Mustang first came out. This statement is accurate because it shows the two biggest inventions of both time periods. When Fords first came out, they were extremely popular and driving was extremely popular but over time as new inventions such as the iPhone let you interact with your friends within seconds, driving became less popular because you didn't have to go drive to talk to them.
In conclusion, driving has become less and less popular due in part to smart phones and how easier it's become to interact with people. Will driving be unused anymore? Of course not, but for shorter distances and in big cities, cars are un-neccesary because in the rise of popularity of bikes, bus and trains. Also due to the rise of iPhones and electronics, cars have become less popular, but it will be interesting to see how car's will play a role in the future with daily life.