Did the smartphones and other technology forces people in the same place to stop talking to each other or they just use them to avoid people to communicate with them and blame the smart mobiles for their behaviors?

Most people if not all behave in that way: Uses his phone in public. 

I think people MOST of the times chose to use their phones. There are many reasons a person behaves in that way in public or in a gathering.

• Being bored
• There are really interesting things on the net that attract them.

Some people may see a person uses a phone in public is an impolite thing to do because it may put an invisible wall between people who are sitting together in the same place. There are some circumstances a person needs to use his phone while he is with others and it is accepted if he did but most of the times it is not accepted.