It's regional. I spent a few months in southern Spain last year. Here's a representative anecdote: Mixed group of fifteen people in their 30's out to a slow lunch on a Sunday. No one looks at their phone for an hour. Then I catch one woman peek at her phone under the table. After a few seconds her friend taps her arm and she puts the phone away for the remainder of the gathering.
My theory: American culture is individualistic and not heavily tradition based. This allows new tech, habits, rituals, and patterns of living to catch on quickly. This is both a good and a bad thing.
US South here: A popular chain started putting to-go boxes on tables at lunch. If your whole table drops their phones in the box when you sit down, your table gets free dessert.
I've noticed just the presence of the game - even if my table doesn't play - greatly reduces screen time and habitual notification checks.
My theory: American culture is individualistic and not heavily tradition based. This allows new tech, habits, rituals, and patterns of living to catch on quickly. This is both a good and a bad thing.