Too Dependent on Cell Phones?

Has our society become too dependent on cell phones and other electronic devices. Now-a-days, everyone and their grandmas have cell phones. They have become a part of everyone's daily lives. This is only going to become more prevelent too. Looking at how my generation uses their cell phone, I don't see it stopping any time soon. Even when I reach middle age, there's a very good chance that smart phones will still be a huge part of everyone's daily life. Is this all for the good though?

I once had a professor that said:

We can be connected to everything, except for what is right in front of us.

This quote has a lot of truth to it. With smartphones, we can be connected to anything and everything. It wasn't enough to just check your facebook when you are on the computer. Now, their are apps that allow you to check on your phone at any time during the day. The vast majority of Twitter users only ever access Twitter from their phone. They don't even to go the website at all.

Even when having a meal with others, people will whip out their phones. Whether it is to text someone back, check Facebook, or Tweet about their meal they just had, people just can't put away their phone. Despite the advances of social media, some may argue that it is actually making our society less social.

What do you think? Is this new technology hurting our society?