How connected are you?

I just had a conversation with friends on Facebook. Cheri complained that "liking" someone she merely wanted to "follow" made her feel icky. She wondered why Facebook doesn't have a "follow" option. Matt's reply: "they do. It's called Twitter." I thought this was an interesting point. My contribution to the conversation was to observe Matt had made the distinction between Fb and Twitter crystal clear.

And yes, I do need both.

I believe people are becoming increasingly connected, electronically at least. Social networking tools proliferate and then consolidate around the best competitors in distinctive application types. Facebook is different from Twitter is different from LinkedIn. And there is value in having all three. At least, I think so. Don't you?

This got me to wondering: how connected are we? And how much connectivity is too much? Are there times when the HDTV keeps us inside when we should be outside, or the iPod keeps us distracted when we should be paying attention? Does electronic connectivity make us more, or less human?

Hmmmm....

Here is a simple, two-question poll. Feel free to indicate your replies in the comments section below, if you like. I'd be even more interested in how the questions made you feel about your level of connectivity and the degree of "humanness" such connectivity facilitates.

1. How connected are you?

A. My preferred "chat room" is my neighborhood bar. I obviously use the Internet sometimes (I am reading this, right?) So I am not a complete Luddite. I even carry a phone with me when I go out, for emergency calls.

B. I access PhilosFX, a few other websites, and some email all via no more than an hour a day on a hard-wired computer (work, home, library, etc.).

C. I spend up to 5 hours a day online using more than one device (computer, smart phone, iPad) to access my favorite websites for news, information, entertainment, and email.

D. I have a wireless mobile hotspot with 24/7 access to PhilosFX and many other websites: Twitter, Flickr, YouTube, blogs, listservs, Facebook, LinkedIn, podcasts, Hulu, Skype, Google+, etc. I live online.

E. I am a sentient Android; my thoughts and feelings are transmitted continuously, like radio waves. We are all living in a computer simulation.

2. Which statement best describes how you interact with others?

A. Who dies with the most toys wins.

B. Live and let live.

C. My heart goes out to the less fortunate.

D. My purpose in life is to relieve suffering in all sentient beings.

E. Other (write your own in the comments).

I don't have a litmus test. I know I like technology. People make tools--technology is what we do. Yet I sense there is a point at which too much electronic connectivity is harmful. Perhaps the tipping point is when we look past the person right next to us in favor of the 47th attempt to pass Level 18 in Angry Birds. As my friend Julie put it in a different conversation, does the technology I am considering (smart phone, game system, website) bring me closer to my family and my God?

That right there, friends, is a very high bar.