Are we finally figuring out when it's not OK to use a cellphone?
This stat should shock you, but it won't: In a new Pew Research Center survey, 89 percent of cellphone owners said they used their phones during the most recent social gathering they attended.
That's despite the fact that 82 percent of the same adults said when people use their phones in group settings, it frequently or occasionally hurts the conversation. Now, compare that to the mere quarter who said using their own phones in these settings takes at least some of their attention away from the people they're with.
Everywhere you look, someone is on his or her cellphone -- texting, using apps, playing games, liking photos, doing just about anything, it seems, to avoid direct personal interaction with anyone else. This is our new always-on, always-connected reality. But maybe there's some hope yet.
"I think we're actually starting to figure it out," NewYorker.com editor Nicholas Thompson said Wednesday on "CBS This Morning," discussing the Pew findings.
"There's a kind of consensus that it's fine to use a phone when you're walking down the street, it's fine when you're on line, and it's a really bad idea when you're at dinner with your family or when you're at church. And everyone agrees with that."
Talking and texting, occupying yourself digitally while you wait, and swiping on public transportation was seen as "generally OK" by 77, 74 and 75 percent of survey respondents, respectively.
On the other side of the coin, of the 3,217 adults Pew surveyed (92 percent of whom have a mobile phone), between 88 and 96 percent agreed that it is not acceptable to use a phone at family dinner, during a meeting, at the movies, or, as Thompson pointed out, in a house of worship.
No surprise, there's a generational divide.
"Those ages 18 to 29 stand out from their elders on virtually every aspect of how mobile activities fit into their social lives, how they act with their phones and their views about the appropriateness of using phones in public and social settings," the report said. "Younger adults are more engaged with their devices and permissive in their attitudes about when it is OK to use a mobile phone."
A solid 50 percent of 18 to 29 year olds said it is OK to use a phone at a restaurant. Only half as many adults 65 and over agreed.
Thirteen percent of young people reported using their phones explicitly to avoid interacting with the people around them, as many as all other age groups combined.
"For millennials a phone is kind of what a blanket is for a little kid," said Thompson. "It's a source of comfort."
And remember that number from the top? While most adults use their phones with they're in a group setting, nearly all -- 98 percent -- of millennials do.
The number one and two activities they engaged in during their most recent social engagements were reading and sending a text message. (The least likely activity: Actually using the phone to place a call.) Coming in at a strong third was taking a photo or video. Seventy percent of all cellphone users under the age of 50 said they did this at their last event, and half of 50 to 64 year olds did, too.
Is that a bad thing? One-third of people said that using a phone while among friends can contribute to the conversation and atmosphere of the group, whether one is sharing information or sharing the photos they just took.
Break that down by gender, though, and it gets a little fuzzier. Women were more likely than men (41 percent vs. 32 percent) to say that the practice frequently does more harm than good to the conversation.