This article just seems like unproductive, sexist speculation. We've all noticed that people use their phones extensively in public spaces, and there's been a lot of analysis of what that might mean. This article doesn't seem to add to that conversation.

For example, the author is dismissive of his sister's conversations with friends without considering why they were so important to her. Even if a lot of it is inane, the social bonds that were likely being formed were not.

Another unhelpful aspect is that it uses a false dichotomy between socializing online and in the real world. For all the author knows, all of the texting and messaging he witnessed was between people who see each other in person regularly.