check your friends list

read an interesting bit last week in 24hrs...one of our 'in-transit' newspapers here in vancouver.
the basic premise of it was this: recent research points to the fact that 'we use technology to connect with friends and family an average of 17 times a day compared to only two in-person encounters.'
this got me thinking of how much time i spend 'interacting' online [which is modest compared to many of you, i'm sure]...how many times i've misinterpreted a text or email...how many times a day i check into communication 'ports' hoping to hear from a friend (or at the very least check their status). i realized that i'm fairly disciplined or intentional when it comes to this way of living...which began to bother me slightly.
the article mentions that 'there's no such thing as a comfortable silence' on a cellphone, or for that matter, a phone call or IM conversation. whether we assume that someone's tuned out or that we've lost the call, chatting this way often removes the 'humanity' and 'being-togetherness' of facetoface encounters.
i was thinking about how many family and friends live too far away to meet...necessitating technology's help. but i realized that, for me anyway, most of my 'tech talk' isn't necessarily meaningful connection as it is time filler.
this got me thinking that if i was as intentional in person as i am online or via text, i may not have as many 'friends', but i would maybe be a 'fuller' person. what about all the time i spend 'connecting' with people...fully ignoring those right beside or close to me?
any thoughts? at the very least, try to create more than two in-person encounters today.
peace.