Unfortunately smartphones encourage inattentiveness. But I've noticed that often it goes beyond just simple distraction. A few years ago I managed to barely avoid a head-on collision with a food delivery driver (ironically, I was doing food delivery as well), and he ended up hitting my Jetta's rear left wheel and spinning me out 180 degrees. Thankfully only scratches on my car, but the other guy's Civic was pretty crumpled and puking coolant. It happened in an intersection. I was going straight and he was coming the other way in the turning lane. He was looking at his phone in the middle of the intersection while trying to make a turn! It blows my mind why someone would think it's a good idea to not look at the road in such a situation.
But that's not anything I can change or do anything about, so I look at the positives. I love that I live during an era where I can basically carry a super computer around with me in my pocket. The times a phone has been a benefit to me in my daily life is countless. Medical emergencies, checking in on senior parents, finding my way with google maps, etc. Plus, I'd argue that cell phones can enrich conversations. I've had tons of family conversations where we're looking up things about the topics we're discussing or checking definitions/translations of words or what have you. Interestingly my parents (mom in her 70s and dad passed away last year at 89) never had negative views about cellphones. They just saw them as useful tools and regularly ask(ed) me if I have my phone on me to look something up they have questions about.