How Soon Do You Get Online in the Morning?

The NY Times ran an interesting article a couple of days ago about how technology is changing our daily lives, starting with our very first waking moments.

This is morning in America in the Internet age. After six to eight hours of network deprivation — also known as sleep — people are increasingly waking up and lunging for cellphones and laptops, sometimes even before swinging their legs to the floor and tending to more biologically urgent activities.

This is true for me, except in my case it's an iPod Touch. It's the last thing I check before I go to sleep and the first thing I check when I get up in the morning. Why, I'm not sure. There's hardly ever anything important that I'm finding out that can't wait, but I like keeping up on what everyone is saying.

Fortunately I'm not faced with the responsibility of trying to manage the technology use of children like many of those cited in the article. If I were, I don't think I would begrudge them keeping in touch with their friends through their gadgets, though I think there are certain times to put the devices away and get some work done or communicate with the people around them.

I think this would be a fascinating topic to explore with students. I wonder how early they begin to be to connect - both in age and time of the morning.