Always Connected? It's "The Mobile Difference"

"Cast a glance at any coffee shop, train station, or airport boarding gate, and it is easy to see that mobile access to the internet is taking root in our society. Open laptops or furrowed brows staring at palm-sized screens are evidence of how routinely information is exchanged on wireless networks."

So begins the overview to a new Pew report,"The Mobile Difference.

Pocket-sized devices can now connect us via phone calls, e-mail, texting, chats, etc., while also offering access to the online world, videos, music, games, and more.

The "always connected" situation created by mobile technologies does indeed offer some benefits, but what are the detriments? Are we, for instance, becoming less than we were meant to be, relationally speaking -- as human beings -- as a result?

Technology grants us the opportunity to be connected to the world wherever we are, yet, ironically, it can also isolate us from those in our immediate presence. We touch the world, but ignore our neighbors.