It's noon in Central and Marita Quan has just slipped out of work for a quick lunch break with one of her friends. She is eyeing the restaurant menu when her BlackBerry buzzes. 'It was my friend,' she says. 'She's running late.'
Quan, a 34-year-old publishing professional says it is moments like this that make her question her relationships. 'It frustrates me when friends do this. Why do they think it's OK to be late as long as they text or call on their mobile phone? Being late is still a form of disrespect no matter the technology, but people just don't seem to understand that.'
Quan also dislikes it when people make plans and then call or text to change them at the last moment. 'It's like people have forgotten what it means to keep their word.'
So is this reliance on, and obsession with, new technology destroying our fundamental ability to communicate face-to-face, disconnecting rather than bringing us closer together?
Alice Yu, counsellor at ReSource the Counselling Centre, says some people actively choose technology as a way to dodge confrontation or emotional upset. It's all too easy - and tempting - to cancel dates, break off relationships, or conduct acrimonious divorce proceedings through the impersonal medium of e-mail or SMS. 'They are trying to avoid the expected confrontation and subsequent intense yet uncomfortable emotions,' says Yu.
This scenario was recently played out when Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales recently dumped his television commentator girlfriend online by using his own website. Wales updated her profile by posting his own personal statement: 'I am no longer involved with Rachel Marsden.' In response, Marsden put his clothes up for sale on eBay. The accompanying posting read: 'Hi, my name is Rachel and my [now ex] boyfriend, Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales, just broke up with me via an announcement on Wikipedia. It was such a classy move that I was inspired to do something equally classy myself, so I'm selling a couple of items of clothing he left behind in my NYC apartment on eBay.'