@howfar I read an article (can't find it now) suggesting the post-smartphone generations have lost the benefits of boredom.

The mind - allegedly - needs an amount of seeking for stimulus and failing before it turns mostly inward and makes gestalts of its contents.

So, by having a Pavlov box in every pocket, we're losing the opportunity for the sudden leaps of technical and philosophical insight that used to come from people sitting on platforms or in the backs of churches on a rainy Sunday.