Well yeah. Otherwise what are you suppose to just sit there awkwardly in public?

Public buses existed before cellphones

So did newspapers, which served the same social purpose on the buses before cellphones.

I would encourage you to take a breath and observe the world around you every once in a while.

I've actually been socially pressured to check my phone at a dinner table if at a certain point everyone else at the table checks theirs (which is not even a jab at them- at least a few people probably had a legitimately urgent-enough notification to attend to... making after-dinner plans, checking train schedule etc.) It's just funny how strong the social urge is to not just sit there if everyone else is also checking their phones.

It's kinda like the early 2000s where someone on their cellphone (and later bluetooth pieces) had the appearance of must be important because they're on the phone.

I'm pretty sure it is a sort of art game / digital experience. Compare with "it is as if you were making love"[1] by the same creator, which gives a sex-inspired series of input tasks with an extremely barebones interface yet claims to be a "usable and efficient experience of pleasuring a partner".

[1] https://pippinbarr.com/itisasifyouweremakinglove/

You know how in every zombie movie there's a bit where our intrepid protagonists must blend in to avoid capture. I think this is that sort of thing.

An anecdote about that pressure and how we assume that people are messaging or browsing all the time.

I was playing a game of Power Grid [1] about one year ago and I noticed that everybody were tapping on their phones all the time between their turns. After half an hour I finally said, "Oh well, I'll also start sending messages or you guys will think that I have no social life." They raised their eyes and looked at me startled. "But I'm using the calculator!" "Me too." "Me too."

[1] https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/2651/power-grid

It's art.