Things I've Noticed: The Horror of the iPod Touch

It started with the smallest indiscretion, I was sitting on the couch with my wife and the movie we were watching featured some actress I was sure I had seen somewhere before. Normally I would simply think - good for you, actress whose name I don't remember - it's nice to see you're getting more work. But sitting on the end table next to me was my newest piece of tech, (new for me, anyway - I got it as part of a deal when we bought our latest Mac), the iPod touch, and I knew that if I used my IMDB app, I could have the actresses name and filmography in seconds.

Barely taking my eyes off the screen I did a quick search and there she was, I informed my wife that the actress in question had played the daughter on some TV show we watched a few years back and I thought that was that.

Then my wife added game apps to the iPod, and worse for me, a Tangram app. Tangrams for me are like Sudoku for most people - I can't just solve one, and this little app had almost 500 simple puzzles for me to solve (I finished in just under a month).

Last week, while watching a television show (we're working our way through Nip/Tuck right now) my wife looked over at me and asked me if I could attempt watching a show without using my iPod at the same time.

The worst part is that this behaviour is exactly the stuff I have railed on at my friends and family about over the years - people sort of listening to me while they text, listen to their iPods or worse yet, talk on their cell phones. I've always been big about giving my entire attention to whatever it is I'm trying to pay attention to, but now I think, why not pay slightly less attention and try a quick game of solitaire.

I'm currently putting my iPod on the other side of the room when I watch television, but I can sense it calling me, asking me if I should check my email, my Facebook status or even simply play a quick game of Bejeweled 2.

Seriously, this thing is starting to freak me out!