Being bored was okay. It was part of life, and good for you. It not only got you to put in effort into not being bored (_eventually_), but just not being entertained is good for your mental well being. None of us realised this at the time of course.
I remember times "before internet", when there no internet, no mobile phones, only books, TV with 3 channels, gossips, newspapers and radio. And so? I remember when cranky old men shouts "enough books,enough TV,enough radio, enough music". I'm now cranky old man, so what?
I still do not realize it.
There’s enough time for smartphone use outside school hours. It’s a waste of time/energy for the tutor if no one is paying attention. Of course I’d try to make the lecture as interesting and ‘fun’ as possible, but winning their attention over Insta/TikTok/etc is challenging.
Arguably, yes. You learn to deal with discomfort, which is good for your mental health. Changing circumstances to avoid discomfort puts the power in externalities, whereas learning to deal with situations you don't like puts the power internally (you). The modern world trains us to run away from anything we don't like, and here we are.
Also, most people don't sit in a room voluntarily because they're looking to be bored (unless it's for meditation, but that's not the same thing). It's usually because of someone else.
now you can do it anywhere, such as in the middle of a work call, or in class.
The difference is that now almost everyone can.