Are You Addicted to Your Smart Phone?

So I'm here in Los Angeles at the Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour, sitting in a room full of journalists who are so plugged in and wired technologically that Star Trek's Seven of Nine wouldn't feel out of place. How plugged in am I? Well, I work online, so I've got my laptop with me at all times. Plus I've got my Blackberry and an iPhone, and I'm tweeting and Facebooking. Oh, and this week I started using Google+.

In totally unrelated news, I'm having trouble sleeping and concentrating, and my blood pressure is skyhigh. But like I said, I'm sure the two things aren't connected at all.

BTW, while I've lost my temper, my keys, and my wallet more than once, I've never misplaced my iPhone. Not even for a minute. And I've never forgotten to take it with me when I leave the house.

Anyway, I attended a PBS panel called "Social Media: What’s Working for PBS and How It Might Work For You" which is hosted by PBS' Kevin Dando, director of digital marketing and web guru Mark Glaser, the founder of PBS’s MediaShift blog. Given that the PBS Facebook page has 900,000 "Likes," not to mention the fact that the network has 800,000 Twitter followers, I figure that these two guys know what they are talking about. 

So when they start discussing the growing addiction millions of iPhone and smart phone users are developing to their electronic devices, I listen. Especially when they note that two thirds of all smart phone users sleep with their phones right next to their bed. And a portion of those actually put them under their pillow. 

Want to hear more? 35% of smart phone users use them before they even get out of bed and and that includes 18% who use some sort of social networking app before they've done anything else. Smart phones aren't just being used very early in the morning either. 34% of users are checking them late at  night, and for 20% of folks, it's the very last thing they do.

So much for kissing the significant other goodnight.

To tell the truth, I'm one of those folks. And sometimes I don't think it's a problem at all. But other times, I'm not so sure. My partner and I have had more than one argument over my checking/using my iPhone while watching TV. And I've even been known to sneak a peek while he's talking to me. Or at least trying to.

So in many ways I'm more connected to the world than ever before. But in a very profound way, I'm less connected to the world I actually live in. When I used to walk around the lake I live by, I'd look at the birds, the turtles, the beautiful sunsets and chat with my partner. Now I'm just as likely to be looking at AfterElton's Facebook page.

Smarrt phones are obviously wonderful devices, which is why they've been adopted faster than any other technological device in history. And now that they are here and so much a part of our lives, there is no going back. But I do think it's worth asking ourselves just what we've gotten ourselves into and what changes we should make to how we use them before it's too late.

Which is just what I'm going to talk about with Seven of Nine. Apparently, it might be possible to actually implant my iPhone in my head. Hmmm....

A science fiction character or the future?