In the fifteenth century, Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press. His machine paved the way for book production and for the first time in history, reading became a skill people wanted to acquire. 

Did friends meet for a pint of ale and a bowl of pottage to discuss this new thing called reading? 

How may decades passed before reading lost its newness?

In the twentieth century, homes became electrified. When electricity was a new thing, it must have felt miraculous for a homeowner to walk into their house at night and flick on a light switch.

I remember color television being a thing.

I stood in my friend's living room with a dozen boys staring in awe at the Phillies game being broadcast on a brand new RCA color TV. We couldn't believe it. The grass on the field looked so real. It was green!

When does something new stop becoming a thing?

Every widely embraced technology goes through a transition from being noticed and talked about to becoming invisible and accepted.

Do you think social media is still a thing?

I don't.