You're one of the first people who's never lived in a world without texting.
In August 2011, Jamie Holmes wrote about how SMS is the driving force behind technology-enabled changes in commerce, crime, political participation, and governing in the developing world.
You were born in February of 1993. This year, The Atlantic celebrates its 160th birthday, making it 5 times as old as you.
The year you were born, Erik Larson wrote about America's weak gun laws.
Around the time you were born, the World Trade Center was bombed.
In August 2016, Kathleen Hicks wrote about how America should respond to terrorism without compromising constitutional rights and freedoms.
Jason Redmond / AP
At 8 years old, you were part of the generation most shaped by 9/11.
The conflicts and displacements touched off around the world by the attacks have been reverberating for the majority of your life. “This ‘war’ [on terrorism] will never be over,” wrote James Fallows, a few years after the towers fell.
Your life can be divided into two halves: before and after YouTube.
In June 2013, Michael Anthony Adams wrote about how the video-sharing service has helped fill a void in his life—and the lives of many other young viewers.
Fred Hayes / Disney Channel
This is what Hollywood thought teenagers looked like the year you became one.
High School Musical was released in 2006.
Goran Tomasevic / Reuters
When you turned 17, you witnessed the revolutionary fervor that transformed the Arab world in 2010, a movement led by your generation.
When 26-year-old Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire, he ignited a tinderbox of protests that continue to roil the Middle East, and kindled the beginnings of democracy in Tunisia.
Around your 18th birthday, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak resigned amid Arab Spring protests, giving control to the military.
In October 2003, Mary Anne Weaver wrote about who would succeed Mubarak as president, and how they would do so.
Mark Makela / Reuters
In 2013, Chance the Rapper, who was born the same year as you, released his critically acclaimed mixtape Acid Rap.
In May 2016, Spencer Kornhaber wrote about the profound use of faith and nostalgia in Chance’s Grammy-winning album Coloring Book.
By the time you turn 56, economist Jim O'Neill predicts that drug-resistant infections will kill one person every three seconds.
But it's possible to prevent that. In May 2016, Ed Yong wrote about the recommended steps to avert a post-antibiotic apocalypse.
History is happening all around you, every day.
The Atlantic is here to help you process it, in stories like these:
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