Nowadays it seems to be fashionable to be connected: cell phones, text messaging, Blackberries. More than tools for communication, they function as status symbols for those constantly using them: "People NEED to be in constant communication with me. I'm needed."
As trends ebb and flow, soon enough it will become fashionable to not be connected. "I'm important enough that I can take time off. I'm not to be bothered by work." I liken this to being tan.
Back in the day women would carry umbrellas so they wouldn't get a tan because it would appear as if they were out working in the fields. (Heaven forbid.) Soon, it became en vogue to have a tan because that meant you had time to go to the beach, play golf and otherwise frolic in the sun. Eventually, not being "connected" will say more about your status than having a Blackberry that won't shut up.
