I have learned a little something about myself over the last few days. I stare at my smartphone entirely too much. I used to pride myself on being someone who didn't feel like she was "addicted" to her phone or was always texting or shopping online. In fact, I held out on buying a smartphone until people started making fun of my antique flip phone. I've only owned my iPhone for two years but I'm super anxious to get the latest version. It's sad, really, that our major mode of communication is done via these tiny devices, completely devoid of real human interaction.
I appreciated what Ms. Turkle had to say in her TED talk. She accurately points out that even though we seem to be super connected with one another on the surface, we are actually quite alone. I especially agree with her statement about person to person interaction taking place in real-time which is the reason so many people prefer to text. Texting gives us the opportunity to think about what we are going to say, whereas actual conversation may catch us off guard, preventing us from formulating the perfect response. But, as Turkle states, real conversation tends to show the nuances of the person, allowing others to see us for who we really are, not just our digital persona. 
So, how does all this relate to me? I tracked my internet usage for three days and I noticed a pattern. I tend to look at my phone first thing in the morning. Like, before I even get out of bed. I'll check my bank account, browse TMZ, see what kinds of things I can score on Brad's Deals. All this before 7 am. Then I noticed that I tended to check back on the same sites all throughout the day. Over and over again, like something was going to change drastically. I also caught myself reaching for my phone during dinner, while I was driving (wince!), or when I was bored at work. My day usually ended with my lying in bed, reading MSN.com until I nodded off and dropped the phone to the floor.I'm actually kind of ashamed that I am the stereotypical smartphone junkie, because I really never thought I was. I believe that last few days of tracking my internet usage has shown me I probably need to pay a little more to the living, breathing humans in front of me than to the glare of the phone in my hand.
