Richard Forno has an interesting editorial over at ZDnet about technology addiction.

Yesterday I went for a hike in the local San Diego mountains. My Cell phone does not work up there, which is a double edged sword. I enjoy the safety that a cell phone can provide and coupling it with a bluetooth GPS navigation device it can even give turn by turn directions.

Being out of cell coverage can be a bit unnerving, not having direct access to email or the Internet leaves the user in an information black-hole.

While on a less-popular trail, I realized that the sun was setting, and I wondered what time the sunset would be at, so I could cut the hike short if needed. Normally I would pull up wunderground mobile and pull the date from there. But without service, I was a bit dumbstruck.

This all ties back to technology/information addiction. We have become a society so connected that we can even break down when we get disconnected.

I liked the bit of panic that set in, when I could not immediately access information, it allowed me to clear my mind, and enjoy the beauty of nature.

Eventually I did realize that my GPS has a sunset calculator in it, so much for pulling away from it all.