Advancement or Encumbrance?

When thinking about advancements that we are living with that our parents might not have had the privilege and enjoyment of (if you consider it to be that), technologically, I have no problem coming up with examples. But when it comes to the non-technological advancements, difficulty arrises. I was wondering why this is, for I know that our society has advanced greatly in the last 20 or 30 years in many ways that do not involve technology, but becuase we have gotten to the point where our lives rely so heavily upon our electronic devices, it is a challenge to point upon anything else that has aided the forward movement of our society. Americans especially, are so focused on the cell phones, ipods, computers, internet, etc. But is this so wrong? Should we be allowing ourselves to grow attached to our compact electronics? Is it wrong that I feel like I am without a part of me when I do not have my cellular phone in hand? Or is this just the way of the future? We are living with so many things that people did not have 30 years ago. But whether they advance our society or just create a need for electronics I cannot say. I do know, though, that I cannot imagine my life without these things and for some reason, this idea scares me.