The Evolution of Coolness: Tech and Social Trends

Do you consider yourself cool (or cooler) because you have an iPhone rather than another make of smartphone? And how much is that ‘coolness’ worth to you? According to a study by the University of Chicago it takes a payment of $31 a month. That is how much college students had to be paid to have their iPhone messages appear to others in a green rather than a blue bubble for four weeks. Introduced to indicate that a message has been sent by services other than Apple’s iMessage, the green bubble has become a marker for those either insufficiently wealthy to afford an iPhone or insufficiently aware of the stigma stemming from their preference for Android, another operating system. Better avoided, unless there is a reward.

The researchers offered American students a choice of participating in experiments with different conditions. In the control, students simply had to upload screenshots and receive a text message, which set a baseline for how much they valued their privacy and avoiding hassle. Participants in the three other groups were paid to deactivate certain features on their phone: the blue bubbles; iMessage, which provides a few services in addition to the colour; and the camera. On average, students required $18 to participate in the control group, and $49, $69 and $86, respectively, in the three other groups.

But, as you might’ve guessed, it’s a bit more complicated. Whether an iPhone or a mobile running on Android is cooler depends on geography and demographics: in the USA iPhones hold a majority with a 57.68% market share. Among Gen Z users (those currently between 16 and 24 years old), iPhone dominance is even more pronounced, with 88% preferring iPhones over Android devices. But not so in Europe where Android leads with approximately 67% market share. Android also dominates in Africa and Asia due to its affordability and wide range of devices: For instance, in India, Android holds a staggering 95.16% market share. As far as demographics goes, Gen Z and Millennials (age 18 to 34) mostly prefer Apple phones whereas people aged 35 and over tend to be pretty evenly split, albeit with a slight bias towards Android handsets.

Techies will quite happily tell you that the most advanced Android phones are technologically superior to iPhones. Since common network standards were introduced last year, the justification for different colour bubbles depending on the operating system has gone – and all the folks messaging in Signal and WhatsApp already only see uniformly coloured bubbles.

Then again, appearing cool probably matters more to youngsters than a middle aged or even old person. Being perceived as cool can earn influence, admiration, and easier access to relationships or opportunities. It can boost confidence, help you stand out, or make you more persuasive. In fields like entertainment, fashion, or marketing, coolness can translate directly into money, attention, and success. But being cool can also mean compromising who you are, chasing approval, or living unauthentically.

In 2025 being cool means being authentic: People admire those who are unapologetically themselves. Being honest, self-aware, and not trying too hard to impress is seen as effortlessly cool. But also effortless style as opposed to flashiness as well as compassion and awareness make you stand out. Over the past 20 to 25 years coolness has evolved from external validation to internal confidence and from a polished image to curated realness. If someone from 2005 tried to act “cool” today using old playbooks — flexing wealth, chasing popularity, or being aloof — they’d likely come off as insecure or outdated.

As far as technology is concerned, in 2005 the Motorola Razr (a flip phone for those who are not old enough to have had one of these) used to convey a certain status, and foldable phones are again cool in 2025. And while they have obviously evolved since then, iPhones were already the ‘must have’ gadget 20 years ago. Then owning the latest tech was cool, but nowadays using it wisely is.

For most people, being perceived as cool tends to matter less as they get older, but it’s not that coolness stops mattering — it just evolves because we care less about being cool to others and focus more on ourselves. Rather than looking outward for validation as younger people tend to do, older folks typically shift inward — what feels meaningful, what brings peace, what aligns with values.

So in our individual ways we all are cool, irrespective of what smartphone we use and what colour the bubbles in our messaging apps are.