My iPhone at a comfortable viewing distance is about equivalent to my 42" monitor at 8 feet. Details will change depending upon the size of your phone, but that's better than a lot of people's TV setup.
But also, the experience is watching something close up is qualitatively different — yes, focus and accommodation, but also relative motions if it’s handheld, and just the perception of size. (Same FOV, but you “know” it’s small and close rather than big and farther away.)
I think Kevin Kelley’s larger point is that our needs are either more plastic than we thought or there are wrinkles in the sorts of things we’re willing to accept, and that’s sort of interesting and fun to think about.
I'm guessing that, in general, the people who are using their phones as TVs are not the ones with 42" 4K televisions and a 8' living room or, if they are, they're kids getting the privacy to watch what they want in their own rooms.