If people spent as much time reading as they do on their phone, and/or as much time reading and studying as they do watching TV or online movies, they and we (as a nation) would be much better off.
I have noticed that anywhere I go where waiting is involved. Almost everyone is on their phone. It truly is an addiction. Try looking around in a waiting room at the Doctors, waiting on a meal at a restaurant, waiting at a tire shop, etc. In particular, people don’t talk to each other anymore. They “reach out” to total strangers, trying to validate their existence with folks that really don’t give a damn whether they live or not. It is truly sad. I am as guilty as anyone, but as the author is saying, I am trying to refocus away from phones, tablets, etc. As a recovering phone addict, it is difficult to learn how to ‘communicate’ without them.