> I'm currently traveling in Asia and it's jarring to see the number of people sitting idly, watching some random YouTube videos or Facebooking to pass the time.

Why is it jarring?

Because this person comes from a place where people watch random YouTube videos or Facebook somewhere less visible, like their offices, or their own homes.

Because there's an actual real world, with real people around us that we could be interacting with, rather than staring at a smartphone screen?

Why is it jarring to see in Asia, as opposed to everywhere else?

The internet tells me that smoking costs about $2k a year. I’m pretty sure people are spending that much on cell phones now.

Hm. ~$600/yr for a not-great data plan. Call it $200/yr for the cheapest phone that won't make you want to toss it off a bridge or crush it underfoot, if you keep it three years. $800/yr as kinda the minimum to have a phone with the capabilities and usability to actually do anything with it without going into frugal-enough-it's-A-Thing-for-you territory, yeah, I could see $2k/yr not being that far off for a lot of people. Throw in $200/yr of IAP or subscriptions, a better data plan with a more realistic cap for heavy use, replacing your phone every two years instead of three and getting top-end models rather than older or mid-range ones.

Yeah, $2k/yr's probably not an uncommon amount of cellphone-related spending in the US, I bet.