I don't need to look at this bowl movement because I get no aesthetic pleasure from looking at bowl movements, even though each one is unique and I'll never get a chance to see that one again.
Before phones people had ways to bury their noses still. Newspapers, for example. Let's not pretend that phones are some great big problem. Embrace it. Let people escape their daily life a bit if they want.
An easy test with AI: analyze 1000's of crowd scenes from 1970 (probably easy for Manhattan streets) to see what percentage were walking while looking at some print material vs. scenes from now with smartphones.
Your assertion is it'll be the same. I'm willing to take that bet.
when I see all these people walking around staring at their phones, I want to slap them with that word.
Whatever it is on your phone, it'll wait. Whatever's happening in front of you: that will not wait, and it'll never come again.