You no longer book a hotel on the basis of whether or not it has a pool and hot tub, but whether or not it provides high-speed internet access…and whether it’s broadband or satellite…wired or wireless.

 

One of the first things you do in your day is log in…whether it’s to check emails, other message types, play solitaire or some other card game online, play your MMORPG or just to troll the message boards you frequent.

 

The power goes out and you experience “the shakes” within minutes…and cuss out the power company, wondering if that quest you have planned will be effected by a prolonged outage.  (You have the power company on speed dial for just this reason!)

 

You can rattle off web addresses, site names and online user identities quicker than names of people you know IRL (in real life).

 

You go “stir crazy” when on a holiday visit to family without internet access…or with a  “56K” connection that actually only connects closer to 14.4 or 28.8 at best.  

 

You haven’t bought a greeting card in years…you do it all via e-cards websites online!

 

You can’t remember a time where you didn’t have at least one of these…cordless phone, cellular, pager, Blackberry, internet access; or for the very young noobs out there…HDTV’s, thin plasma screens and IPods.

 

You’re gonna be moving or away on vacation, and map out internet cafes in the area BEFORE doing so to avoid withdrawal symptoms if at all possible. (If extremely dependent, you cancel the move or decide to vacation elsewhere if there were no internet cafes within reasonable range.)

 

You’ve ever sat at an airport and thought about paying to use the internet kiosks while you wait to board your flight. (And it wasn’t because you needed to for work purposes.)

 

You knew your email address before your home “snail mail” address (or you’ve ever referred to your home address in snail-related terms)…and/or before you could pronounce your own name.

 

You have more email addresses than you can count on one hand, and yet, you find it easier to remember them and all their PW’s/passwords than your own phone number and snail mail address.

 

You have a handheld GPS as well as a GPS system that came pre-installed on your vehicle, yet have the web address for MapQuest bookmarked, just in case either of the other two should fail you in your RL navigational questing.

 

You bought a digital camera 4 years ago. It works fine and you’re completely satisfied with the pixel and picture quality, but you’ve decided to upgrade anyway. How can you live without 15-second short-attention span videos (with voice recording) on your camera?! (Yes, you really did need to see that close up of your cousin’s nose hairs and to hear his monkey calls while staring at the enormous lugie that he accidentally blew onto your camera.)

 

 

Maybe some of us are a little too technologically dependent. *whistles innocently* (Just say no to nose hairs and lugies on camera lenses!) What are your signs that you’re “gimped” with technological dependency?

 

 

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