I was struck by something similar when I visited the county fair in rural Grant County, Washington in 2023. We were walking around, checking out the 4-H/FFA barns and the exhibit halls, and there were teenagers everywhere, and almost none of them had their phones out. They were in little groups, talking and seeing the sights. Nobody was, I dunno, harassing goats for TikTok videos. Even the kids on "barn duty" (maintaining a presence in the barn with your animals in case somebody has questions or there's a problem) were reading books and playing cards, not scrolling.

I don't know if it was the local culture (I grew up around there, I don't think there's anything so special about the local culture) or just that the kids aren't as fucked up as we think, but it was nice!