I'd not be so quick to judge - some parents worry if their kids use a device for 30 mins, some for an hour, some all day - so the fact they are considering scaling back doesn't really tell us much about their child's usage.
On a flip side - some children with autism that I know are greatly calmed by playing mobile and tablet games, and find books/games/tv/films uninteresting/confusing - so playing a video game is their release - limiting it too much would be negative in my opinion - as they aren't able to engage in a lot else at times.
Was about to write a similar comment, but it seems like parents’ experience (rather than science) is the thing of real value at work here.
As a scientist with no kid in the game whose opinion carries no weight though, I would concur with both you and Dr. Phil on the matter of telephones vs threenagers.
On a flip side - some children with autism that I know are greatly calmed by playing mobile and tablet games, and find books/games/tv/films uninteresting/confusing - so playing a video game is their release - limiting it too much would be negative in my opinion - as they aren't able to engage in a lot else at times.