, e-mail , Facebook or Twitter -- streams of incoming information that are now accessible to us anytime and anywhere we have a signal . According to a trade industry report by the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association , the United States has 327 million cell phone subscribers , more than its 315 million people . Shlain believes her film presents technology as a next step in shaping society . `` These phones extend our desire for emotional connection . So these are all expanding human capacity because it 's us evolving . We continue to want to have more ways to exchange ideas and connect , '' she said . But Shlain also thinks there is a darker side to our always-on , always-connected society . `` People have gotten incredibly rude . When you are with a good friend you should not have your cell phone right here like a ticking bomb . I think there should be no texting in funerals . When you walk in to greet your husband or partner , you should not be talking on a cell phone . '' In the film , Shlain ponders what the lasting impact of this information explosion
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- The news that America now has more cell phone subscribers than people does n't surprise documentary filmmaker Tiffany Shlain . `` There 's 5 billion cell phones on the planet , but only 2 billion people online , '' said the director , whose new film `` Connected '' explores our increasing dependence on the electronic devices we carry . Shlain seems to have a love-hate relationship with technology . In the film 's trailer she recounts a story of being at dinner with a friend and pretending to go the bathroom so she could check her e-mail on her smartphone . `` Everything is happening so fast . There does n't seem to be a lot of time to really talk about what it is doing to us , '' said Shlain , who is also a founder of the Webby Awards . `` What does it mean to be connected in the 21st century ? What 's the good ? What 's the bad ? What 's the hope ? '' Thanks to smartphones , people are n't just connecting through calls anymore . Increasingly , they 're messaging on their phones through texts