As this article notes, it has gotten substantially worse with the widespread adoption/preoccupation with smart-phones and pervasive everwhere/everywhen availability of phone based texting/surfing:
Parents in 40 of the 55 families observed were absorbed in their mobile devices, according to the study. They seemed more distracted when they were typing and making swiping motions with the fingers than when making phone calls. And almost a third of the parents used their devices continuously throughout their meal.

[. . .]

Is that not a decent qed?

(Yeah.. yeah.. 'brats' annoy! Of All Ages unto senility.) Who. What. to Blame :-0

At least.. this synopsis reminded me vividly of the times I stayed with my Aunt (a grade-school teacher.) While she (and my Good-Gramma) were oft stern about my misbehaviors as needed a correction--with explanation!--she would always Answer my Questions, clearly paying full attention to decipher my tyke-grade imprecision.
(I recalled much later when she got one a bit wrong, though: explaining :why all those explosions in the car-engine aren't LOUD! (to us.) It was an OK guess on her part--she no mechanic, but she had magnets and other physics toys in her kit: A+ in my early-book.)

The mere Idea of having a tiny box-one-is-24/7 tethered-to? Does that now majority-situation deserve as much introspection as, say any other newly-crafted device (just as pop-music's morphing: now.. every Largo is played Prestissimo aka frantic replaces all previous concepts.)

I Will-not welcome our Cyborg-overlords; they seem all tutored by Bankers and similar defectives. I see Larger-motives playing out, re the masses.