Actually, I too find it very offensive when I am spending time with someone, giving them my exclusive attention, and yet they are interrupting or disregarding my presence for their phones.

Yeah, I hate that. When I'm out with friends or family, I do keep my phone on and if it rings or I get a text, I'll check it briefly to see if it's a call that I can return later, and then I put it away. Obviously, if it's a call that I need to take (it usually isn't but you never know), I politely excuse myself from the group and take it outside. Nothing bothers me more than when someone that I'm with is blabbing away on the phone in front of everyone else. With a group of people, it certainly makes for difficult conversation.

I don't have a cell phone.

Just read a book called 'The information bomb' by Paul Virillo. He's a bit preachy, tad conservative, and the book is obviously dated(continually making Clinton references), but it was a fun read. Made a few good points. A lot on topics like this.

The one beauty of the internet is that you can CHOOSE what you read, see or listen to. Sure there are huge companies on the net that shove products down your throat but unlike TV for example where you generally are spoonfed news, music etc you can search at your own discretion and listen to the person on the street and their views about every subject under the sun.

The internet has also had an amazing impact on drawing people together who don't have many social skills or choose not to employ their views on a one to one level and are more comfortable talking to 'strangers' without fear of ridicule or shyness. the amount of dating sites out there that have drawn people together is something to be applauded most of the time.

Of course, the net does have many pitfalls too. It is generally uncensored and means that anyone can access pretty much anything they want to indulge in and anonymity can be compromised. Cyber bullying is also rife and extremely detrimental for many and it is a haven for cowards who hide behind a keyboard.

Any form of communication over the last 2 millennia has many plus and minus aspects to it. This won't ever change no matter how far technology becomes.

As for the breakdown in language skills, mobile phones are as much to blame as the net but 80% of the population probably wouldn't forgo their phones because of this.

I bought one of those iPhones a while back, thinking I'd get stuck with my head fused to it all day long, and then I realized that I must be too old for that, because the only thing I ever do on it is read the news and ignore calls from my father.

Yeah I'm surprised at how many people still use textspeak. If you still have an old cellphone, I understand. But so many of them have full keyboards! And if you're at the computer, then, well, I really don't understand.

Some guy added me on Facebook because we have somewhat similar last names (?), and one of his statuses read, "y do i always wnt what i cnt have but always push away wat i prolly need", and this was from a computer. :confused: I'm far from a grammar nazi, but come on.

I don't think most people that type like that are actually THAT ignorant. It's more of a teen culture thing, I think. I mean... I may come off as overly optimistic, but I don't think that someone would write like that on a literacy exam or anything. And if so, the public school system needs to be Osama'd.

Yeah you're probably right. I just don't understand it.

um yeah...I can't watch the first video