the best way to see them with your eyes is to have no city lights in front of you, and then adjust to the darkness for 30-45 minutes. So not continuing to look at your phone. So really, the fact that most people were both near city lights, and continuously looking at their phones means they never adjusted enough to see it. That's why the people for example on Stansbury Island could see them really well with the naked eye. Probably recommend if you have a chance to have a designated photo person or just not look at your phone and go to somewhere really dark.