[fuzzybeard]

> This is quite a visible moral panic as we can see people glued to their phones in public places, e.g. on the train or bus.

The part that disturbs me the most about these conversations is how everyone assumes (and I'm guilty of this too) that when people are "glued to their phones" it's for something superficial like social media. When I'm glued to my phone, I'm checking work email, photos of my kids that family is sending me, paying bills online, researching some side project, making plans for an upcoming vacation, etc.

I don't think people would equate the vacuousness of 'doing it for the gram' with managing your finances. But when we see people on their phones, we just sort of assume they're doing something wasteful. That shouldn't be the default assumption given that you can run your entire life, business, etc from a phone.

[Theodores]

It is not hard to do a bit of shoulder surfing on a packed train. In fact it is hard to avoid even if you have your eyes fixed on your phone!

If I see a game on a screen or a movie playing then I am reasonably sure that that person is enjoying some down time rather than learning a part for a Shakespeare play, studying for their Mathematics degree or entering their tax returns.

[jumbopapa]

I don't think anyone believes that there is no productive use of a smartphone, but I imagine the vast majority of people using smartphones in public are not using them productively.