I agree that it's silly to be snap-chatting as you're following a pipeline. I also agree that distractions are a problem. I'd say a major factor in this problem isn't the distractions, but our guidance and regulation (or lack thereof) on these issues.
The fact is this IS going to happen, and it's nothing new. Whether with phones now, crossword puzzles in the 1980s or studying the overhead panel in any era, people have and will continue to do these things. Saying it's our duty to stay engaged is well and good, but it's also the same thing we've been doing since someone took a book flying with them in a PBY. So we're not going to fix anything with this approach. Is somebody listening to music or news on HF after TOC worse than the pilot monitoring reviewing the operations manual in cruise as he gets ready for training? Is reviewing that operations manual worse than reading a magazine? Is reading that magazine worse than doing your computer-based-training on the iPad in cruise? Is that worse than playing Tetris? Is that worse than editing photos that you're going to send to your girlfriend from the hotel? Is that worse than playing an accordion?
We need better guidance on this issue in the industry. Many of us have experience with someone who wanted to use their phone during a critical phase of flight. Maybe we are better off becoming more permissive in some regimes so we can become much more restrictive in others? I'm suggesting we formally define what most of us take for common sense on these issues. FWIW I like the idea of music stations and letting people read in cruise between TOC and TOD. Others may have a different take on things.