Agree with OP that things really took a turn for the worse once smartphones became ubiquitous.
Of course, as cyclists we can also adapt. Part of it is riding smarter, with a non-assuming mindset (i.e., do not assume anyone sees you on your bike), knowing when to just take a lane, riding with daytime lights, cameras, and now, radar. None of this makes the world a safer place, they just make you a safe rider.
A lot of local bike advocacy going on around me but call me a pessimist I think it's a waste of money and effort. My city wasn't designed (i.e., zoned) for a two-wheeled lifestyle and no amount of bike lanes can fix that (bike lanes to go where? And they're interrupted by a ton of stop lights).
The only way cycling will be safer is if the city is designed around a more dense lifestyle (we love our single family houses here), or if there are more cyclists on the streets.
Around here, the only cyclists I see are club riders who only ride in the foothills in the early morning, the homeless, and the occasional commuter.
Things like critical mass and bike party and other social rides help get more folks on bikes but no one is really biking to restaurants or grocery shops, and very few are commuting (many of us can work from home, but also most jobs (let's just say the big tech companies) are 20+miles away without a direct bike route). Two plazas of interest (grocery store, coffee shop, casual dining) close to my house are about 2-3 miles away by the way of the bird, but one is interrupted by a golf course (and an incomplete trail system), forcing me to go around through either a commercial area or through a small residential neighborhood. Getting to the other necessitates crossing and riding along a 40mph road where multiple pedestrian fatalities have occurred within the last 7 years I've been here.