I’m inclined to consider this a moral panic about phones. I’m glad the article mentions some of the other possibilities regarding demands on students beyond notifications such as work and monetary stresses, albeit very briefly. It word have been good to get the opinion of some educators outside the literature department as well.
For me what killed my love for reading was too much mandatory reading. That burnt me out. I’m trying to get back into it though.
id argue that it’s mostly a workload problem. I remember when I was in college there wasn’t much time for leisurely reading.