Anyone noticed that people have a tendency these days to answer a question by holding their phone up mutely rather than answering a question. An obvious example is do you have the time? It's starting to really annoy me. I admit I'm particularly sensitive to it as my eye sight has deteriorated and I need to squint, if there is a strong back light it's instant headache. If this happens i say I'm sorry I'd need my glasses, would you mind reading it please.
Since becoming aware of this I've noticed more and more. I recently spent a weekend with a friend and it happened constantly, possibly because I was in her town so was likely to ask questions. Examples - are the buses frequent? She holds up a timetable; is the restaurant far? Google maps screen held up. Dh recently did it when I asked him what time was the restaurant booking.
It's sometimes not even in response to a question, just in normal conversation. My colleague recently told me about a book she finished and that she thought I would like and then holds up a picture of the book instead of just telling me the name and author. I commented one day to a friend 'this bloody rain, I feel like its never going to stop' and she held up a weather tracking screen.
I feel i can't be the only one to have noticed this trend and find it irritating.