hmm - i’m torn about this one. while i have to agree that it is far too easy to get pulled into your laptop and away from your meeting (resulting in zombie meetings), there are some benefits, especially when one is only partially familiar with the subject matter being discussed.

people will often drop acronyms and terms in the middle of a talk, and while i don’t mind asking the occasional question, i don’t want to detract from the meeting itself. in such situations, being able to quickly look something up on google can provide context to what the speaker is saying without sidetracking (and lengthening) the meeting. this sort of thing is more useful in talks or information sessions though, where one person is leading the session.