My largest criticism of our oneness with phone is that, no matter how responsible you are with them, they removes you from being fully present. For consumption

My largest criticism of our oneness with phone is that, no matter how responsible you are with them, they removes you from being fully present. For consumption of media--which most people use it for--it's like sitting down and opening a book or paging through a magazine. When you're with others, it immediately puts you into a private space that your mind is attempting to connect to, disconnecting from the present. It's counter to mindfulness. Even when you open up your phone for just 10 seconds to check on something, you're distracting yourself from being present--regardless of how responsible you are with it. That said, I don't have any problems with hanging out with friends or family and reading a book. I've done that my whole life, but it's not appropriate for times when you're trying to actively be there and have a connection with them. There's little difference between having a friend pull our a book or their phone when trying to watch a movie together, but our phones are so intertwined with who we are, it's easy to not see it that way.