I saw this article today on Digg and it brought me back to a conversation I had not long ago about the addictiveness of mobile devices and the message facilities that they bring with them and also how the evolution of social networking has made us ask some funny questions of each other.
http://digg.com/gadgets/I_am_a_Blackberry_addict_and_have_a_problem_Y_Answers
The name Crackberry has been around for a long time now to refer to the addictive nature of the Blackberry device. People put mobile phones on silent but then spend the next few hours momentarily checking them. We get people texting to ask if we "got their text" or even phoning to check that you "Got their email". Then there is those rather strange conversations I sometimes find myself having in the pub. "Are you on Facebook?", and "its great, I have 189 friends now!". Not having a facebook account I see this as rather strange but I am rightfully informed that it is great for "keeping in touch with those you have lost touch with" Mmmmm, at least some of those people I may have accidentally on purpose lost touch with so will stick to my other methods of communication for now :)
So couple the above situations with the new and emerging technologies such as GPS and Twitter et al and soon, I we may have friends who know what we are doing before we do, even to the point where they can watch us go along our daily life in real time and basically eliminate any possibility of the "I am working late Darling" excuse for "nipping for a swift half".
Going back to the conversation i recently had, my friend asked me where we would be without mobiles today and my answer was simply this:- "We would be on time, where we are supposed to be and not walking down the road doing the Mobile Macarena whenever the thing rings in whatever pocket it happens to be in today".