Answer:
a) I believe that it is a combination of changes in both the demographic component of the business environment and technological changes that made this possible. Every time I think about how many things were replaced by the smartphone, it just amazes me. When I was little, my father used a camcorder to make videos, a camera to take photos, he needed a watch, a lantern, a telephone, an agenda, a calculator, and a long list of other things.
If I had to carry all these around with me, I would need a huge backpack. Instead, I use a smartphone and everyone I know uses one also. I doubt that there is any person under 40 or 50 years old that could "survive" without their smartphone.
Who needs printed news? The only possible answer is people who do not know how to use a smartphone. This is a good change from an environmental point of view, i.e. less paper = less trash = less trees cut down = happier planet.
b) As I said before, no one under 50 (or maybe even older) can manage to live without their smartphone. Technology has become part of our lives, and it doesn't matter if you are a man or a woman, the effect is the same. Smartphones have become such an important part of our lives that 81% of adults in America own one. If you could segregate that statistic by decades, I'm sure that over 99% of people under 50 use them.
It doesn't matter if you are poor or rich. If your family is large or small. If you graduated from college or not. Everyone uses smartphones and what happened to AstroNews happened to the New York Times, Washington Post, and every other single newspaper. It is also affecting news channels like CNN or Fox news, so even cable TV is obsolete compared to smartphone apps.
