Technology dependent

Poll: Americans hooked on gadgets

Gabbing on cell phones, Web surfing on laptops and rhythm-walking with iPods, millions confess they have become high-tech junkies – already coveting a new wave of techno-toys, an AP-Ipsos poll found.

Those most likely to get hooked make more than $50,000 a year, tend to be more educated and come from every age group except seniors.

The plugged-in habit comes with a high price tag. The cost for communications and entertainment runs $200 or more a month for a third of U.S. households, the poll found.

Attorney William Grantmyre spends more than $500 a month on communications, entertainment and the Internet at his two homes, one in Cary, N.C., and one at the beach. He says he has no choice.

“TVs, cable or DirecTV, cellular phones, high-speed Internet,” Grantmyre said. “All of those things are pretty essential in today’s world.”

Popular digital gadgets are increasingly compact, multifunctional and easy to use, say analysts who see a surging interest in high-tech toys.

“At the epicenter is the iPod, the iPod-like devices, which are in full flood,” said Roger Kay, a Massachusetts-based high-tech analyst. “Now people know what they are, the service is mature.”

Along with iPods and other MP3 players, the new wave of high-tech toys includes digital video recorders like TiVo and cell phones that take pictures and a variety of hand-held computers.

Almost half of personal computer owners say they can’t imagine life without those computers. About as many cell phone owners say the same thing about their portable phones.

The intense loyalty to high-speed Internet is a sign that people are getting hooked on newer technology. Almost four in 10 people with high-speed Internet say they consider it essential. About two in 10 feel that way about their DVD players, digital cable and CD players.

Some people freely admit to being high-tech junkies.

“The Internet connection is my lifeline,” said Jennifer Strother, a mother of two young children who lives in Smithfield, Va. “It’s the connection to friends, e-mail – especially for stay-at-home moms. I’m hungry for adult conversation and any news that isn’t ‘Dora the Explorer’ or ‘Blue’s Clues.'”

One of her favorite gadgets is TiVo, which allows her to record programming for her husband and herself as well as her children’s favorites.

Many people feel they have to be plugged in.

“Our culture is about distraction, numbing oneself,” said David Greenfield, a Connecticut psychologist who specializes in high-tech issues. “There is no self-reflection, no sitting still. It’s absolutely exhausting.”

The number of people owning high-tech gizmos continues to grow.

High-tech items mentioned most often as sought-after gifts this holiday season were DVD players, MP3 players, cell phones and video game consoles.

Penny Entsminger of Milton, Fla., was buying plenty of electronic gadgets for her children.

“I already bought quite a few, including computer games like Xbox and other things,” she said. “That’s what kids wan. It’s something they asked for.”

Interest in high-tech gadgets tailed off a bit several years ago, but it appears to be making a strong comeback, industry watchers say.

“There is more interest in these products,” said Stephen Baker, an analyst of the high-tech market. “Pricing is more reasonable. They’re getting smaller, more mobile.”

Gadgets from an earlier wave of technology, including DVD players, CD players and cell phones, are now in most homes. But the next wave hasn’t saturated the market yet.

About four in 10 have video game consoles like the Xbox. About a fourth have MP3 players like the iPod. One household in seven has satellite radio, the poll found.

For so many people to consider high-tech gadgetry essential to modern life is no surprise to Greenfield, the psychologist who specializes in Internet addiction.

“Part of the reason is the hype, the commercial selling of it,” he said. “Some people feel the products will improve the quality of their lives. But do we really need to be connected in every way, shape or form?”