My dad drank and watched TV. His dad drank and was too tired to do anything because he was a laborer. Going further back, my family were poor serfs. Shall I find a duke to toil under?

you still have a duke and you still toil.

Exactly. Current type of smartphones (they're not first ones) were invented about 11 years ago, and people got so incredibly addicted and dependent on them it's incredible... It's as if smartphones are literally (and I do mean literally) a vitally important part of life.