That’s a thing about being on public transit every day, and being in the city. People are always head down, looking at their phones.
Sometimes they aren’t quite looking where they’re going. It’s easy to get annoyed, especially if they’re standing in the way, or walking slowly in a crowded place.
I look at their screens as I pass “I nearly always do”. I’m amazed by how often people are watching videos. That doesn’t seem like fun to me, watching a movie or TV show in the middle of a crowd, ignoring all the life happening around them.
But a lot of times I see people walk out of a building, or out of the BART, or pause on the street, and look down at their phones and smile.
They look surprised and delighted and content. I imagine they’re reading a text from someone they love, and it’s making them happy, transporting them to somewhere beyond the rainy street or crowded train.