[. . .]

It is an inescapable irony of our contemporary existence that less than 24 hours after I saw “Each and Every Thing” — a show in which Hoyle not only asks everyone to turn off their phones, but tells us that he hopes we keep them turned off for an hour or two after the show — we’re connecting directly, for the first time, via Facebook. But Hoyle is unbothered by what could be deemed a trifle hypocritical. He loves technology as much as the next 34-year-old raised in San Francisco (and currently living in New York). He’s not opposed to social media, in principle. He owns a smartphone.

But he’s convinced that the emergence of that smartphone as our default interface with basically everything has altered something significant about how we behave when in public.

“It’s one thing when we’re all alone in our homes, connecting online,” says Hoyle. “But when we’re out in public checking in on our phones, we are creating new private spaces in the public arena.”

“Something has changed. You have five minutes to kill, and instead of looking around, maybe having some random conversation with a stranger, maybe just sharing some glances … we’re looking at our phones. I think these new technologies enable a level of self-isolation that’s greater than ever before.”

It all makes sense, says Hoyle, quoting a line from his show, because “reality is awkward … And life through a screen is less awkward.”