Only skimmed through this but I thought that this article sounded familiar...down to the tidbit about missing a friends birth on Facebook and using a custom VPN to block the services....Published by Gizmodo, Jan. 2019 [0]
to save other readers a click, this is the same author as the NYTimes article in the OP, so this is that author recycling their own content, not plagiarism from someone else
I'm actually OK with this, particularly in the area of tech reporting. The state of the art advances quickly and it's likely worth revisiting assumptions, options, and outcomes with updated inputs.
*I haven't read both articles, so there may actually be no updates.
[0]: https://gizmodo.com/life-without-the-tech-giants-1830258056