[bigyabai]

Yes. This is a component of media literacy that has been melted away by the "magic technology" marketing of the 2000s. It's important for people to treat these stories with allegorical white-gloves rather than interpreting them literally.

Gene Roddenbury knew this, and it's kinda why the original Trek was so entertaining. The juxtaposition of super-technology and interpersonal conflict was a lot more novel in the 60s than it is in a post-internet world, and therefore used to be easier to understand as a literary device. To a modern audience, a Tricorder is indistinguishable from an iPhone; the fancy "hailing channel" is indistinct from Skype or Facetime.