Phone cameras were meant to help us capture our lives, not consume them. So what went wrong?

Young woman at home scrolls news on smartphone feels bored and dissatisfied and low energy. Redhead girl on sofa reads feed long time tired eyes slow breath shows emotional exhaustion and deep sigh.

There's a saying you'll have heard a thousand times: the best camera is the one you have with you. It's long been a rallying cry for the smartphone generation: a way to stop worrying about gear and just make pictures.

But a new study suggests something has gone badly wrong with that idea. The device we carried everywhere to capture life is consuming it instead.