This isn’t everywhere. In Israel the majority don’t accept smartphones, and if they have any type of device that is kosher and can do other things, a lot can’t text still or have whatsapp.
I read a study about how just having your phone out in visible sight during a conversation can affect the other person and how they veiw you and how they think you respect them.
I tell people I’m friends with that I’m going to hang out with them only if they put their phone away. I make sure the majority of my time with them is spent face to face, second in line phone/skype, and afterwards messaging. If messaging ends up taking up more time, I’ll limit it. I’ll “not be avialable” in middle of a text conversation I’ll say “Hey, I want to talk about it like fact to face, let’s wait till then and change the subject” or “i MISS your voice, let’s talk” or “my hands hurt from typing” or “I gotta clean my room, but I want to talk to you, so let’s speak over the phone and I can do both!” etc.
You aren’t a slave to yourself, to society, to anyone. If it’s harming your life, get rid of it. Be honest with yourself and don’t think about “what they’ll say” and I promise anyone who drops you cuz you can’t text, whatsapp, etc isn’t a real friend.
If you live far apart you can email, like people write letters, you can talk on the phone, video chat on skype, or hangouts or lots of other stuff.