By Andrew West

DOVER — Maybe we have been too glued to our screens to notice.

Delaware has changed dramatically in the first quarter of this century.

For better or worse?

That’s up to you to decide.

On Friday, Dec. 17, we begin a new series, “Dynamic Delaware: 2000-2025,” that will look at this.

Let’s start with how inviting our state is. There are now more than a million people living here.

That 30% growth has created stress on our highways and in our schools.

Meanwhile, the state’s population has been growing older and less healthy overall.

The progress over the first 25 years of this century has included several overpasses — you can now get from Wilmington to Five Points, near Lewes, without hitting a stoplight.

Several new schools have been built.

And the state’s hospitals are expanding and recruiting to meet the demands.

Of the quotes I have shared in recent years, this one from Bayhealth CEO Terry Murphy stands out:

“We have to be thinking of an aging and sicker population coming down the road 20 years from now,” he said. “I find myself thinking of Indiana Jones, with the boulder coming behind me.”

The medical systems in Delaware — particularly ChristianaCare — are among its largest employers.

General Motors and MBNA are no longer discussed as big players upstate.

Instead, Amazon — which now has more than 9,000 employees here — is still growing.
In Kent County, Playtex no longer dominates the manufacturing scene. But Dover Air Force Base is strong, delivering the military’s needs to all points of the globe.

Around southern Delaware, agriculture remains important — but it, too, has changed. Solar panels — as well as housing developments — continue to sprout.

Gamblers are still pulling on the handles of slot machines, but they now have many other options — including sports betting and table games.

There are also new “highs,” with the legalization of marijuana, and new odors along the highways. That may not be a dead skunk that you’re passing.

Social issues, such as gay marriage, have been among the most discussed topics in the General Assembly.

And, speaking of politics, there was a time at the turn of the century that Republicans held some statewide offices. Remember Mike Castle?

The state — just like the nation — is dealing with polarization.

Smartphones and algorithms haven’t helped in that regard. Can we blame them for loss of civility?

Really, the iPhone and the internet have changed our way of life.

Shopping malls are not what they once were. And Walmart isn’t the same, either. How many of you get your groceries delivered to your house?

Wawa and Royal Farms stores now dot the Delaware landscape. At the same time, the major drugstores are closing. Thinking about that: Where have you gone, Happy Harry?

And how many of you grab the phone when you want food or need a Lyft?

How many times a day do you take a selfie? Or capture a moment?

Would more people remember Taylor Swift’s appearance at the Delaware State Fair in 2007

if they had a video on their phone?

And do you worry when you see schoolchildren reaching for cellphones instinctively when there are fights?

That said, can you remember what it was like in 2000, when you had a beeper or a flip phone, and that was still just a little too much connection?

Remember the Y2K scare? That was just a small hurdle as we threw ourselves into a new era.

The State News, back in 1999, asked a few of the state’s elected officials for some predictions.

“There has never been a more exciting time to be an American, and I predict that the new millennium will offer us all new opportunities for knowledge, electronic communication and global interaction that is unprecedented in history,” said then-U.S. Sen. William V. Roth Jr. “The world will continue to become an international community, as commerce brings nations closer together.”

We would say he was mostly right.

So, readers, what do you think of this first 25 years of change in the First State?

Is life better? Email civiltalk@iniusa.org.