Gadgets vs Social Interaction

Fellow usability blogger Jasper posts on his Uselog site about how mobile web devices (yeah, iPhones) are throwing a wrench into normal social interactions. Good old-fashioned conversational delights give way to whipping out the phone to look up some fact, photo, or video; or worse, those present decide that their company is less interesting than texting those absent. He also found this photo, from Flickr user garrettmurray, showing no fewer than five iPhones in use at an (otherwise) fun social gathering. Maybe some of the fun in conversation, what makes it work, is not knowing the answers immediately by looking them up, but instead talking about and debating them... Something to think about, or laugh at, either way!