At times I face this problem myself.
The underlying problem, however, is that some teens, like myself, feel unfairly stereotyped with this disease of phone addiction. Just because a teenager is spotted holding a mobile device does not mean that piece of technology is the center of their universe. And if one teenager's sole existence is their phone, that doesn't mean that is the case for every teen on the face of the earth.
Here are some examples of the things that collectively take up the majority of my time besides my iPhone:
-piano
-church activities
-school activities
-school work/homework (there is a LOT of it)
-miscellaneous social events
-jobs such as babysitting/chores
-independent reading/writing
So you see, behind the phone very well could be an accomplished athlete, academic superstar, hard worker, dedicated Christian, etc, and you'll never know if you routinely assume all teens to simply and primarily be phone addicts.
At the end of the day, stereotypes don't decide our intentions or personalities. We do.
So if we are content with being labeled as our technology, so be it.
Something tells me we aren't all so accepting of that.
