Technology is also infringing on our home lives, with Moggridge citing a "frightening" trend in South Korea to have sophisticated workstations fitted in the bedrooms of children as young as eight. But he doubts such techno-creep will be pandemic — after all, in the US, he says, "most homework is done in the car".

Q: So how can our relationships guard against what you call "techno creep" — this constant digital connectivity and multitasking that is such a part of everyday life?

A: We need to be vigilant about the ways in which we're giving up rich and connected time we care about for trivial digital communications that seem urgent but aren't really important. We need to re-create boundaries. When you carry a digital gadget that creates a virtual link to the office, you need to create a virtual boundary that didn't exist before. Another quality that I think is very important but has been ignored is being fully present. We're multitasking and not paying full attention to the person next to us. We need to remind ourselves more often to pay attention to the human moment.

"We're in the age of 'technocreep,'" said Steve Robinson, managing editor of CNN/SI, the cable channel and the Web site. "It used to be a need would arise, and technology developed to fill that need."

Now, the technology bursts out, like a young dandelion, the spores floating through space, clinging to everything, coating the world.