Plugged In-ness: New Way of Life or Regression in Progress?

I recently read an article focused on how society is "plugged in" and beginning to seclude themselves from the real world. In today's society, whether it be for scholarly purposes or for personal interests, the Internet and technology are a necessity, but the question then becomes when is enough, enough? In the article titled Is Being "Plugged In" Changing College Campus Life? authors Liz Williams, Ethan Kolek, and Meg Kluge, students at the University of Massachusetts discuss the benefits and costs to technology and use of the Internet in the world today. Some of the topics discussed in the article are things from membership in campus groups and organizations decreasing in the last 20 years to how the Internet is beneficial in sharing information in a timely manner not only locally but across the world. In the article, the authors kept a very neutral stance on the subject, being careful to balance both sides of the argument but I can state my side a bit more clearly. Even though I agree with the authors that now because of technology, there has been a decrease in the "personal" aspect of actual socializing, I feel that things like phones, hand helds, and more recently tablets and ipads are more helpful than harmful. I do remember the days, although I was fairly young, when you could have a conversation with someone and have their full attention; today it is difficult to carry on a conversation with a person without hearing a chime or feeling a vibration in your pocket or purse alerting you that you got a text, Facebook notification or Tweet. The benefit of having your entire world in the palm of your hand is that you will never miss a single thing. Anyone in your close circle or friends, family, or loved ones can very easily send you the information necessary to keep up to date and informed; everyone can be up to date now. If it isn't all that clear, I'm for this new age that we are stepping into. I feel it will be the start to a new age enlightenment period where everyone will soon have access to all different kinds of information around the world. So when is enough ever enough, I feel that when it comes to acquiring information, there is never a limit that can be placed on it, after all, how can anyone place a limit on the ever expanding mind?