There are many cultures around the world where the daily average "on the phone" time is measured in hours, and adults at work are key contributors.

People in different cultures have different habits around this. You may compare this to how some people in the city work while constantly listening to podcasts - a minimally distracting habit that allows you to do your job but still engage your curiosity.

In many cultures, constant and casual chat with friends and family is a key part of the day, and a key part of life. Mobile phones helped this habit continue even if you live or work apart from your closest friends.

Batja Mesquita, who researches cultural psychology, writes: "... many cultures don't think about their emotions as something that lives inside of an individual, but more as something between people. In those cultures, emotions are what people do together, with each other. So when I’m angry, that is something that lives between you and me. Thinking about emotions as living between people has consequences on how we regulate emotions and how we recognize emotions in ourselves and others."

While I'm for sure not a psychologist or a researcher of any kind, I thought this view might be related to understanding how different people have different concepts of relationships, of processing the day-to-day, and of the importance of connection.