I agree that a total preoccupation with gadgets is bad (unless that's your business). It's been so funny to read all the anticipation of the "iPhone" and the immediately after it is announced people immediately start talking about what they don't like and demanding to see in the next version! That being said I love technology that works and makes me not have to think about the gadget itself. From what I have seen the iPhone will make it easier for me to communicate with people better and not have to think about how to communicate with them. I can text message and do other things with my current cell phone but I don't because the whole process is too painful. As much as I love technology their comes a point where I refuse to have to become "one with the machine" in order to use it.

Lewis,
You raise some very important points vis-a-vis modern society. When Gerry McGovern posted his "The Web at 15" last week, it made me think of this very issue. We've gotten so fascinated by all of these technological marvels that we interact with people less and less. Or so it seems to me. Modern technology gives us a lot of convenience and there isn't anything wrong with it, in my view, if it doesn't supplant our human relationships.

It's quicker and easier in our perception to text message and send emails in short bursts than it is to have meaningful conversations in business as well as our personal lives. As we interface more and more with "gadgets", we do so less and less with other human beings. Sad. We need to strive for balance here, as with everything else in our lives.

Lewis,

Here's a perspective from a not-so-old fart. :)

At the ripe old age of 35, I share similar concerns. Yes, I grew up with technology and yes, I appreciate technology but I also try to live by the "too much of a good thing" rule. Every good thing in life can turn sour if we don't establish boundries to protect ourselves. That's right, boundries. It's not healthy to be too connected, too accessible, to have our senses stimulated (or overloaded) 24/7.

I call it "digital drain". That's probably why your head and wrists hurt. Our bodies are not meant to be frozen in set positions for such sustained amounts of time.

The answer? Discipline. Yet most of us (including myself) who think we have it actually lack it.

And it also comes down to choices. We're on the same page today Lewis. I was actually going to do a visual on my blog showing how "digital drain" affects us. But that would take a lot of effort, and since I have the day off, I'm choosing to spend it with my family instead.

Too much of anything could be a bad thing, I suppose. I like the convergence angle Apple (and everyone else) is pushing, because it would allow me to combine some things that would, in fact, make me more efficient. There are some quality podcasts out there that would make me better at my job and, yes, better at my life -- certainly more informed. I can listen that during my hour-and-a-half (in traffic) commute, making that time far more productive.

Plus, combining that with the phone and web surfing means I can stay connected to not only work, but also friends and family, who for me are scattered across the U.S., no matter where I am.

Still, applying it all towards work seems like it would be such a waste. As David said, shut it all down once in awhile and remember what it was like before you were on call 24/7.

Great contributions all. Thank you!

David, you and I seem to be on the same page. We are talking about choices and making decisions (i.e., personal responsibility and prioritizing what is important and most rewarding). I would love to see the visual but not today. You are doing what I plan to do this afternoon.
Patrick, Claire and Cam, You get it and added lots of good thoughts to the original post.

Most important, I think that sometimes we need to pause and need to remind ourselves that if a gadget adds to the daily stress of life and takes time away from relationship building, then we need to think about whether that is a benefit. In other words, there is something to be said for good old-fashioned face-to-face sales and marketing. And a lot to be said for taking time to talk to the person in the next cube or even the next floor instead of an IM.

lewis, you are right about getting offline and talk to people. but about the gadget, i do think that we do care so much because we are grown up children. toys are no longer for kids, but for adults. do you remember when sony launched the first playstation? they aimed at the teen ager, they got the young adults.

Welcome to the enabling of the passive aggressives of the world. I used to sit next to a woman that would email me instead of talking to me.
There's a woman that works with me now and her current boyfriend IM'd her to break up.
SHeesh
I do think the iphone is pretty cool and I would love to have one but I'm not rushing out to get it.
I still have an ancient gameboy that I play tetris on.
There is something to be said for challenging our minds to learn new things and wrap our brains around new technology.
I actually had to tell my daughter's teacher to limit her time on the computer! She was getting cramps in her side from the way she sits in front of the monitor.
This is an awfully disjointed response.
Maybe that's the result of all the gadgets...my train of thought is getting spastic.
Great post Lewis as usual!
I'm going to go outside and hug a tree now. ;-)

Tammy,
If you lived in St. Louis the tree would be hugging you, if what I hear about the ice storm is true.

Lewis, I think you're right on. Forrester has been thinking about this - we think that successful companies will be the ones that are able to "humanize the digital experience." For anyone that wants to go more in depth, there's a free audio file with excerpts from the 2006 Forrester Consumer Forum here: http://a964.g.akamaitech.net/7/964/714/caaad932289a75/www.forrester.com/imagesV2/uplmisc/cf1.mp3.

As I'm in Florida right now, I think you have more soul-searching on this issue when you're in a nicer climate than forced to be inside, like Bostonians today!

Pete, that's it! Forrester, as is so often the case, has got it right. I argue that humanizing nearly any product or service increases interest and ultimately sales. It's still about the "who" and the "what's in it for me."

By the way, it's a light rain in Hartford and you're probably having to deal with sunshine and warm temps. Yuck! (ha,ha)

OOPs! I hugged a cactus and now I'm full of holes.

Great post. Makes you think.

It is technology that has made our life easier so we have time to enjoy new technology. It is a cycle that has been going on since the human race invented the wheel, maybe before. The big different now is that the cycle of new technology is faster. What took thousands of years now takes 1 year or less. Guess what? It is going to be even faster for our children and grand children.

We all have a tendency to think “the good old days” were better. They were not. A soldier in the Roman army (yes I have been watching Rome on HBO) might not have contact with his family for years at a time. Now our soldiers can call home and talk to their kids. Average life spans in Roman Empire days were 35-40 years. Today we live longer, eat better, communicate better and are able to pollute the air and water better. More interesting, is that technology is what will allow us to survive the excesses of the present for the next 1000 years? At least I am hoping.

We are still killing each other, communicating the wrong messages, are envious, hateful, loving, sharing, evil, good, kind, and greedy just as were people from the beginning. It is just now we can do it at light speed.

I subscribe to the original Star Trek premise that the future and all the technological advances will better us. Man, am I a geek or what?

Harry Hallman

I think if more warm people were still in the world, we would be so fascinated with i-phone, or these gadgets to make us feel like someone is interested.

At a certain point however, we have to accept that these gadgets are fitting to the changes we are making, and sometimes warm fuzzies don't fit that model.

Read my company blog too, about the i-phone design.

Interesting post and comments. You may want to check out this piece at Adbusters called, "Loneliness and Technology."

http://adbusters.org/the_magazine/69/Loneliness_and_Technology.html

Thanks Elaine:
For me, this says it all:

“There is something trying, even exhausting, about human interactions,” writes Laura Pappano in her book, The Connection Gap. “Why meet when you can e-mail? And digital video makes it seem like you’re there. Right?” While interviewing a terminally ill woman who chatted online to escape loneliness, however, Pappano discovered that the woman gradually grew cynical of the superficial interactions with her ‘friends’ – to them, she was merely a name on a screen, disembodied from her cancer and the world around her. They didn’t perceive the pain in her eyes or voice as she communicated with them. Her life and death had no impact on their conscience.

A gadget is just another word for big people toys. Something to kill time with or fill a void.
Tools, on the other hand, are
implements that help you work.
Pre-occupation with gadgets is
mindlessness. I see too much
redundancy and bloat with all of the electronics we have at our disposal. Ownership of the gadget has become more important what is done with it.... its like
electronic jewelry. Pretty but who cares?

I have a Verizon Pocket PC and it has changes my life greatly. It indirectly caused my family to get rid of the TV and cut way back on time spent in email on the family computer. We spend more time together because of it. TV Advertisers take note.

I love the diversity of thoughtfulness in these comments. The subject's answer isn't black and white but I do think we need to take stock of technology and how it helps or hurts us in terms of our humanity.