Being able to communicate instantaneously can be

a little over-the-top…technically

We’re all equipped with a cell phone…usually capable of getting an internet connection. Tasks like getting across town or deciding on a restaurant for dinner can become a series of texts, tweets, e-mails, and phone calls, often ending with no decision being made, and certainly not in a timely way.

Always having immediate access to information and advice may be a plus, unless that overwhelming amount of choice leaves us with the inability to make any decision at all.

On a recent long weekend away with my family, we Facebooked, texted, emailed and digitally entertained ourselves through most of a six-hour drive (relying on GPS to get there). We were all having fun but unfortunately it was not always with each other.

So much of our daily interaction now happens with a technical component, that we may be turning into crowds of distracted individuals. Whether we are out to lunch with a co-worker or home with the family at the dinner table, if we are going to replace conversation, even small talk, with texting or emailing, the impression is that the messaging is more interesting than your present companion.

Yes, it is quite possible to be connected to thousands of people at any given moment in time – - that’s the good and the bad news. Hopefully, we will use courtesy and common sense and won’t resort to the many forms of technology available to us when we should just get together and talk to someone…face to face, I mean…in person.