[baumschubser]

Angela Merkel was known to text during parliamentary sessions, sometimes with multiple phones, with colleagues about the ongoing debate.

Other anecdota: Nowadays it is only part of Green Party folklore from the past, but to knit in political sessions was a common sight. What is not so silly but just stupid is conservative delegates watching football during a sex work debate (2018, https://twitter.com/BoehmeMarco/status/1012001444302598146). In German Bundestag, parliamentary rules forbid to photograph "personal documents" (including phones and tablets) in a way that the content is recognizable.

[wwweston]

> Angela Merkel was known to text during parliamentary sessions, sometimes with multiple phones, with colleagues about the ongoing debate.

Legislative / collective council discussion has probably always had some sort of quieter back channel discussion. The low tech solution might be a whispered conversation, or might be conducted via pages/runners when decorum puts moving around the room out of reach.

Mobile devices mean you can use technology instead of runners.

[lupusreal]

> sometimes with multiple phones

Reminds me of movies where le epic haxxor starts typing on two keyboards at once.

Anyway, if everybody's vote is a foregone conclusion and the debate is only for the sake of the process, I can't find fault with people getting bored and tuning out.