It's not a "forced convenience" it's a veritable one, hence the ubiquity of these devices.

It's undeniably both. But the former was the focus of the discussion.

No, it's not both, it's not forced by any conceivable definition of the word. Anyone claiming that society is forcing them to own a smart-phone is just making excuses for not wanting to give up the convenience, but nothing is actually stopping them from doing it.