When did we need to have it with us at all times???

I was shopping at Best Buy today and was looking at backpacks to carry laptops and anything else I may want to have with me. What is the compulsion of never being 'without'. Would it kill me not to have my Audiovox 5600 pocket pc phone capable of playing video, mp3's, pictures, and internet? Is it that necessary to have my laptop incase I come across a WiFi hotspot so I can pop up my email and update my blog? I was looking at iPods, the difference in sizes, and what they can do. Can I get away with a 4 gig mini or do I need a 30 gig? How ridiculous is it for us to feel the need to carry 10,000 songs at all times.

Now don't misunderstand and think I am judging, as I want all that and anything else new that comes out. But, where did this compulsion begin? What made us decide that we have to have access all the time? There was a study in Britain that people who constantly check email on portable devices or on their computer actually lose intelligence. Is that the advancement of society? Are we becoming so reliable on technolgy that we can't live without it? I have been distracted in conversations with people by being preoccupied with the need to check email.

Where do we go from here? Is it time for us to draw limits or throw ourselves deeper into the bottomless pit of technological advancement?

This is something I will have to ponder after checking my email, calling friends on my cellphone, ordering my movie tickets online, all while playing Halo 2 and updating my blog at he same time.