At the same time, I have no idea how things work with UA or DL’s training programs, it’s possible this is industry standard for the US.
I don’t know about aviation industry standard, but it increasingly seems to be every US employer’s wet dream.
The FA on my flight yesterday went through the training program where you offer a water-only PDB, get through meal service, and then park yourself in the jump seat with your phone and 3 wedding planning magazines for the remainder of the 5 hour flight.