Is this 'The Matrix'?

This is a serious question. Everytime I go to work, roughly 20% of my customers will come though my line staring at their phones, completely ignoring everything around them. You may recognize these productive members of society as the oblivious individuals who insist on texting while driving. Why do people do this?  Is it purely a means of escaping the hum-drum repetitiveness of the 9-5 work week? Out of fear of becoming a social pariah? Why do people immerse themselves in the social quagmire that technology has made all too available in this, our 21st century.