Gadolhadorah,
“Why not assur everything that could remotely be used, directly or indirectly, in committing avieros.”
Reductio ad absurdum. The decision whether to ban smartphones or not is based on a risk/benefit analysis. Nobody denies the benefits of a smartphone, but the risks introduced by the technology are also quite high. Therefore, some have concluded that at this point, the risks outweigh the benefits. Filtering technology, apps, and cultural changes may well change that calculus now or in the future, but that’s the way it is. The balance of risks and benefits will be different for other technologies.
“Those who mindlessly speak about assuring automobiles, electric-powered devices, and other forms of modern technology obviously have concluded the Ebeshter made a mistake when giving us the sechel to transform technology and improve the quality of our lives.”
First, just because you disagree with another poster’s point does not make him or her “mindless.” Second, “they” have not concluded that any mistakes in the setup of the world have been made, CV”S. Rather, they disagree with you that smartphones have resulted in a net improvement to quality of life.