When Gretchen Baxter gets home from work as a New York City book editor, she checks her Blackberry at the door. "I think we are attached to these devices in a way that is not always positive," says Baxter, who'd rather focus at home on her husband and 12-year-old daughter. "It's there and it beckons . That's human nature (but)...we kind of get crazy sometimes and we don't know where it should stop." 

Americans are connected at unprecedented levels--93% now use cell phones or wireless devices; one third of those are "smart phones" that allow users to browse the web and check e-mails, among other things. The benefits are obvious: checking messages on the road, staying in touch with friends and family, efficiently using time once spent waiting around. The _ : often, we're effectively disconnecting from those in the same room. 

That's why, despite all the technology that makes communicating easier than ever, 2010 was the year we stopped talking to one another. From texting at dinner to posting on Facebook from work or checking e-mails while on a date, the connectivity revolution is creating a lot of divided attention, not to mention social anxiety. Many analysts say it's time to step back and reassess . 

"What we're going to see in the future is new opportunities for people to be plugged in and connected like never before," says Scott Campbell. "It can be a good thing, but I also see new ways the traditional social construction is getting somewhat torn apart." 

Our days are filled with beeps and pings--many of which pull us away from tasks at hand or face-to-face conversations. We may feel that the distractions are too much, but we can't seem to stop posting, texting or surfing. "We're going through a period of adjustment and rebalancing, " says Sherry Turkle and she wants to remind people that technology can be turned off. "Our human purposes are to really have connections with people," she says. "We have to reclaim it. It's not going to take place by itself."
What percentage of Americans use wireless devices?
What are 1/3 of those?
What did we stop doing in 2010?
What social media site is mentioned?
What kind of anxiety is it causing?
What are we going to see more of in the future?
according to whom?
What does Sherry Turkle want to remind people to do?
What does she think human's purpose is?
Does she think it will happen all by itself?
What does Gretchen Baxter do when she gets home?
Where does she live?
Is she married?
Does she have children?
How old is her child?
93%
93%
smart phones
smart phones
we stopped talking to one another
we stopped talking to one another
Facebook
Facebook
social anxiety
social anxiety
new opportunities for people to be plugged in and connected
new opportunities for people to be plugged in and connected
Scott Campbell
Scott Campbell
she wants to remind people that technology can be turned off
she wants to remind people that technology can be turned off
to really have connections with people
to really have connections with people
no
It's not going to take place by itself
she checks her Blackberry at the door
she checks her Blackberry at the door
New York City
New York City
Yes
her husband
Yes
12-year-old daughter
12
12