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Time to "pull the plug"......

Who hasn't felt bedevilled by the onslaught of emails and being contactable 24/7 - or been irritated by being with others who simply can't, or won't, concentrate on the conversation at hand without constantly looking at their mobile, Blackberry or iPhone. This piece in the Sydney Morning Herald shows how things have got totally out of hand.

"At a recent business dinner, half the table checked emails or phone text messages during a lull in the event. At a meeting the next day, some attendees couldn’t go an hour without checking their phone. How pathetic to have a phone on silent, sitting on your lap, under the table.

I shouldn’t be surprised: a recent US survey found a quarter of all internet users think its okay to be online during sex. Slightly more said it’s okay to be “plugged in” during their honeymoon, and 8 per cent think it’s alright to surf the web during religious services.

Someone should set up Cyberholics Anonymous: “My name is John. I’m 45 years old, sleep with an iPhone next to my bed and check emails upon waking. I have sore thumbs from texting, and waste half the day replying to useless emails. I’ve forgotten how to listen and have a real conversation. I am now a manager of emails – not people.”

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