In a wireless world, personal contact takes a back seat.

Lately, I've been leering that technology is dividing us as much as uniting us. Yes, it can make the far feel. near. But it can also make the near feel far. I realized this after a cab ride from Charles de Gaulle Airport in to my hotel, in Paris. The driver and I were together for an hour, but between the two of us, we had been doing six different things. He was driving, talking on his cell phone, and watching a video on a screen in the dashboard. I was riding, working on my laptop, and playing my iPod. There was one thing we never did: Talk to each other. I love connectivity, but I'm finding this age of interruption overwhelming. I'm not alone. A month ago, I was trying to find a friend in Jerusalem. I kept calling his ceil phone and getting no answer. I eventually found him at home. "What's wrong with your cell phone?" I asked. "It was stolen," he said, adding that he didn't replace it because it was constantly breaking his concentration. "Since then, the first thing I do every morning is thank the thief and wish him a long life."--Thomas L. Friedman (11/1/06)