I’m sorry to put it so bluntly, but I think most Rabbonim would agree that it is poshut. If it would be possible to get by without a portable smart device, they should not keep one, i.e. anybody for whom it is not absolutely necessary to have to access their emails and the like whilst on the move. I think it’s fair to say that most people’s jobs at most require them to have a regular phone, and access to a non-portable device such as a computer. Can it honestly be said for all frum yidden who possess such a device that they could not manage without it, or at least without all the features it offers (such as a phone that can access emails but not video)?
This is an unfortunate issue I have often encountered in the CR, as well as frum society in general. It is not that people aren’t cognizant of the dangers. It is just that they are meikel when it comes to themselves. If people were this lenient when it came to, say, Pesach cleaning, then all it would consist of would be wiping down the kitchen surfaces briefly with a damp cloth. And there is no question as to which is more important. People who would otherwise, rightly, hang on every word their Rav says, feel free to deride Talmidei Chachomim daas torah, and I quote, as “out of touch”, and “when the rabbonim called for the ban, I suspect it was based on what people told them rather than first-hand experience”. This is a ridiculous attitude to take with matters of kedusha, and the worst part is this is prevalent in our community. A bedieved in a matzav of extreme tzoirech has become a lechatchila for many people.