Screen Test: Enhance or Detract

For a while now I have been concerned about screens. I have two main concerns:

1. the amount of time I spend in front of a screen
2. life being filtered through a screen

Now I am clearly not anti technology by any means, I write a technology blog, I work in the social media industry, I am getting my masters degree in instructional technology, and I will be teaching a class this fall on using technology in the classroom. In fact I am starkly opposed to those who talk about technology as thought in cannot produce anything more than superficial stimulus with no meaningful experiences.

But I am concerned because the area is still new and we don't know much about its effects.

I admit that I don't want to live in a Wall-e like world where all interactions take place through a screen. 

I think in the early 2000's we teetered near this fate as more work became computer centric and tied people to desktops and laptops. I believe we were pulled back from this by the mobile revolution that began to take place after the iPhone and then the iPad were released. People are coming to realize that while most jobs now have a computer or internet component to them (for many communication), many do not require you to constantly be in front of a traditional computer because they can be done from anywhere on a mobile device.

I consider this a good thing, because I believe that the less obtrusive technology can be while still bringing enhancements to our lives, the better.

What concerns me now is that this new ecosystem of mobile computing has brought with it its own challenges. The accessibility of the screens when we are out of the house has made us subject to constant drive for more.

More what?