That is exactly it.
If you're constantly scrolling through social sites, you're either mostly living in the past by hoping someone engaged with whatever you posted or living in the future by thinking "I wonder what XYZ posted, or what's trending on HN".
Stopping to live in the moment sounds like the biggest cliche ever, but it really is one of the "secrets" to really enjoy what you're doing with no forms of procrastination or other bullshit.
Speaking about myself, I only have notifications for emails and for messages directly addressed to me. I might check it occasionally on the bus to see what popped up in the news but other than that, I don't have the need to pull it from the pocket all the time.
What exactly do people do different than this with their phones? I really feel that I have been missing something amazing with the smartphone usage when I read posts like this.
I went to a national park with my GF to watch the recent Perseid. There was no phone signals there. Except for the map, I didn't need it so I didn't care. At multiple times though I reached for my phone to Google questions we were asking ourselves, on nature and space. I guess in a way it pushed us to think more about the subject instead of getting an instant answer, so in a ways it's good, but we never got any actual answers, we just forgot about theses questions though, which I don't feel is good...
I'm running a business on my phone, so for me - yes. If I pull out my phone to take a photo on a Sunday and I see that a big client emailed into support, I'll get distracted and feel the need to respond quickly. Monday through Saturday, this is the proper reaction - so I need at least one day a week to disconnect and enforce more strict boundaries.
If that isn't only SMS messages you likely use it like most do. Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, WhatsApp, etc. I don't have a phone off day but I don't use any social media on my phone at all. I do believe anyone who does could use some time off because it is an addiction and most are addicted. Using it with other people around really should be frowned upon. Like back in the day when you only called people on the phone after 9 and before 21 and not at eating times. It is bad behavior really.
People lament the absence of spontaneous conversation in their lives, but they don't realize that it's because they don't ever make eye contact with anyone else around them. There are tons of people everywhere who love to chat in line, or waiting for a bus, or sitting in waiting rooms. It's how we used to pass time before we bought a black mirror to entertain ourselves.
We spent this past Sunday navigating around Paris with a paper map, which was felt romantic in kind of a nostalgic way. I realized on the Metro that I kept making eye contact with people older than me - because they were the only ones not on their phones the entire time. I also realised how much not having a phone stimulates my curiosity - I spent my time looking around, listening to new things, and paying attention to what was happening around me.
I think phones are powerful tools. But, your brain gets too used to constant stimulation. I think that it makes you less patient and more anxious as you get used to these constant hits of dopamine. You can never relax, and it makes it tough to live in the moment.