This reply is meant to generate discussion. It is not sarcasm or meant to be taken negatively at all:
What is the purpose of any rules? Why have them? Is it possible to make a “perfect” rule or policy or public intervention whereby all affected persons are serviced fairly? Probably not. If you conclude we need rules, how do we balance their benefits with the disenfranchisement of some of the persons affected negatively?
In your specific case, how do you make the rules minimize negative outcomes without excessively sacrificing the potential positive outcomes?
I’m genuinely interested in your perspective from your age and place in time.
These are good and valid questions. If you’re passionate about them, you may consider studying political science and/or law in the future. One day, if you’re still passionate about this topic, you may be in a position to change the rules.
You should still set airplane mode when airborne for other reasons besides interference with the aircraft. For one, you’ll save your battery. It takes a lot of “juice” for your device to search for cell towers that are likely out of reach. You may also want to avoid connecting to a tower outside where you have coverage. E.g. for a flight from Anchorage to Minneapolis, maybe you don’t want to connect to Canadian cell towers and potentially receive charges in another country. Obviously this depends on your plan limits. But, yeah, it’s not really about protecting the airplane, in most cases