Prompted by this article about changing online habits, in this podcast Nada and I discuss information overload, online etiquette, and research we’ve done on teenage technology use.
[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

More people are using the mobile internet in the United States than before — 39% of the adult population are connecting to the internet through their mobile phones, according to The Mobile Difference , a recent report by the Pew Internet and American Life Project. The report broke these users down into five groups: Digital Collaborators, Ambivalent Networkers, Media Movers, Roving Nodes, and Mobile Newbies. [...]

In our book Intimacy , Andrew and I found that advances in IT can facilitate greater intimacy of relationships among colleagues. However, this does not necessarily seem to be the case for non-colleague spouses and partners. This week I came across this recent survey from Sheraton hotels which found that 35% of respondents would pick their Blackberry over their partner.
Now, I know that sometimes a Blackberry may compete with a spouse for attention, but I think that 35% of people choosing the device over the person is endemic of the BlackBerry addiction and technology addiction more generally I’ve found in my research. If someone chooses his BlackBerry over his spouse, and brings it into the bedroom (87% of respondents), and admits he ‘loves’ it (62%) (findings that echo my own research), then clearly this person needs to reexamine his priorities.