Well, on the first point, how in the world would society keep anyone from getting a cell phone? Seriously, I think that would be pretty much impossible.
On the second note, this is going to wander OFFTOPIC: but I am in complete agreement with the second part of your posting as I have found quite a few of those traits in those closest to me in typical, day- to- day life. When in mixed company (immediate family with some slightly extended family members) and say, watching something on TV, I find I am the only one actually watching. Everyone else is looking down into his / her lap at the phone. Also, no matter what is happening be it a conversation, eating out at a restaurant, etc. ad nauseum, the phone 'trumps all' and MUST be answered and attended whenever it jingles or vibrates or lights up. So right in mid- sentence, all conversation must stop to attend the phone. This has seriously and substantially affected the way I interact with people around me because if they feel our interaction is so unimportant that the jingle of an electronic device must stop our (those of us in the same space) interaction, then I would just as soon not interact with any of them in the first place so they are free to 'deal' with that phone.
I find between social media (what I call FaceTwit in polite circles but something much more rude in personal interaction) coupled with the continuous umbilical into the electrical ether, 24,7,365 1/4, to be the two worst things that have happened to my society in my lifetime. I am not opposed to technology, quite the opposite. But I am opposed to an electronic device 'taking over' any human's life, and this is exactly what FaceTwit / unlimited data smart phones seem to have done.
I can only extend the scope of my disappointment in all of this but provide no cure or even counter to it. Those drawn into the 'black hole' of the small, lighted and connected "box" seem to have been lost and what is worse, they seem to like it. It all strikes me as the real- life dystopian future predicted by the sci- fi writers of many previous decades. But instead of non- Earth invaders, bent on destruction of our little planet, it is our own selves doing it to.... our own selves.
Hey, maybe it is me that cannot keep up with modern times. But whatever it is, when I am watching a movie with others and turn to comment on something, only to find I am the only one in the room who actually saw what I was going to comment on, or when I am in the middle of a conversation and my conversing partner grabs the phone and attends it, I find it rude, obnoxious and counterproductive to normal human interaction.
If any of you want to discuss this further, contact me on FaceTwit.
but also
Brian (and yes, I DO OWN a smart phone, I am just not its indentured servant)
Oh, it makes you wonder- just the "taking away of the phone" alone, that would be DEVASTATING to some people (often the ones who have ZERO self control while driving). Perhaps one of the most traumatic things you could even do to them, outside of jailing them (which also takes away their phones). That utter dependence, itself, seems pretty scary.
Side note: I am seeing increasingly numerous studies over the years that are linking child/teenager use of smart phones (and especially with social media) to all kinds of horrible outcomes- depression, lack of empathy, lack of socialization and appropriate social skills, loss of physical motor skills, inability to plan, worse mood swings, attention deficit disorders, sleep issues, increased suicide risk, lack of critical thinking skills, poorer overall physical health, worse grades, increases in addictive personality, on and on... a huge laundry list.