My take on this phone thing is that people here want to show off their latest phone and also they have this insatiable need to fiddle with their phones everywhere they go - on the trains, bus, even when they are eating. Have you noticed that almost all of them place their phones next to them when they eat, have meetings, in KTVs...

Staring/texting into mobile while walking, and (almost) bumping into me.

I'm walking, and yelling 'buuuu' with deep 'tenor' (as in the West, when you're onto scaring somebody), to avoid being walked over.

Sometimes (very, very rare) I must respond to message on my phone, while walking outside. I stop, move on the side, and 'text myself to death'. Why Chinesers can't do the same? Because, it's not necessity, buTT...'show-off-ing'.

thailand and philippines definitely. probably most of east asia have a thing with handheld gadgets, and camera phones in particular. many asians seem to derive their confidence from their ties and connections to family, friends, contacts and acquaintances. perhaps it works like a crutch, making people feel in touch even when they're all alone. and of course, someone who is busily chatting on the phone must be well connected. perhaps the loud phome conversations in inappropriate places are simply because the people on the line are more real and relevant to them than strangers sitting right next to them.

South Korea, maybe ? In both South Korea and China, the younger generations are a bit autistic in their relationships to others, especially the urban ones. A rather bland life (put yourself in the shoes of a teenage Chinese/South Korean) with little personal space makes artificial, simplified worlds very attractive.

Not sure for the rest of Asia. In Vietnam, a few years ago, mobile phones were of course super popular and status symbols, but people were less stuck in it, and they didn't have that autistic thing. Always texting friends and relatives, anytime,, they are dead scared of being lonely.

I've just spent a couple of hours in the gym and was counting in my head (simultaneously while exercising) how long the people in there were actually exercising when compared with playing on their phones or just standing around and watching their friend use a machine for an average of about five lunges before slumping exhausted due to its weight being set ridiculously high.

10 minutes out of 60 seems to be how long your average person spends actually exercising in the gym.

I only rest between sets when I move to different equipment. I'll bet so many guys will brag about how long they spend in the gym on this basis. Surely this must serve as an analogy for their approach to work as well...??? 

Lots of hours, little actual performance.

Just my opinion...but I think it has just become habit for most people. A habit, like lighting up a cigarette without even thinking about it. As a smoker, As soon as I would get in the car, I would light up without thinking about it. Chain smoking as I play a computer game on my laptop. It seems to be a need to have something to do with your hands and distractions in your life outside of the everyday things in life.

I call it an addiction actually. If you have ever known someone who broke or lost their phone for any period of time, they seem to go through withdrawl symptoms just like a person quitting smoking, alcoholics kicking the drink, and people who binge eat.

There is a game people play in the USA sometimes, when they go out to eat as a group. Everyone puts their phone in the center of the table. The first person that pciks up their phone pays the dinner bill. I find it fascinating to do into restaurants where there are a group of people sitting together. At some point, they will all have their faces glued to their phone and not talking to one another. The art of conversation seems to be dying out. OK. That might be an extreme statement. But, when the phone becomes your life support system to maneuver through life, there is something wrong.

I have not been to enough countries to accurately answer this question. But, as a general thought, I think this is the case in any society that has been invaded by Apple, Samsung and the other phone makers. I remember when cable television came to my town when I was younger. Instead of going outside to play, we all had to get home to watch our favorite TV shows. And, the list of TV shows we had to watched kept growing and growing to the point of it consuming hours of our time. When VCRs came out, my mother bough one just for me to record my shows. That way I could go outside and play more. It kind of backfired. It just meant that I could watch one of my favorite TV shows while recording another to watch later.

Technology has been both a blessing and a curse to societies. I remember when personal computers became affordable for the masses. It was said that they would help eliminate the need to use so much paper and we could help the environment by not killing all the trees for paper. What happened? The printer allowed us to print all sorts of wasteful information and we increased the number of trees needed for paper. This was before paper recycling was taking hold.

As you might tell from my post, I am an older guy. I recently bought my first "smartphone" (oxymoron word). I have yet to figure out all the bells and whistles of the phone. And, I am kind of afraid to do so with all the apps available. Being in China, I thought it would be a useful TOOL to have here. Translations programs, pinpoint maps, and other things to help in my daily life. But, I found Angry Birds. It has occupied far too much of my time. I deleted it from my phone and I initially missed it to help fill the voids on my daily schedule. So, I am cautious about learning various apps. Even a simple music app could dominate my daily schedule if I am not careful. Sure. Some on here will say that I have no self control to allow a phone to dominate my life like that. Well, at least I am not alone in being a slave to my phone phenomenon. Billions of people in the world (not just in China), face the same situation.

Japan.