They didn't have those things in their pockets 24/7, and the social media apps are designed to be addictive. Not exactly the same scenario

Did you seriously compare constant engagement of phone to occasional MTV or video games?

Read this book, Amusing Ourselves to Death https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0023ZLLH6/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b..., but replace the word TV with Internet. You will be surprised how remarkably similar the arguments are.

D&D had way worse reps than either (maybe not rock and roll). People legit thought you were a horrible person if you played and that it warped your mind from day one.

That's false equivalence. Smartphones are much closer to an innate/biological shift than a cultural one.