I don't tell a story unless I have a very deep bench. If you tell an idiosyncratic story, there's no resonance. People read it and say, "I don't see anyone like that." So I tell a story only when I have many stories behind it.

We expect more from technology and less from each other.

Everyone is always having their attention divided between the world of the people [they're] with and this other reality.

Does virtual intimacy degrade our experience of the other kind and, indeed, of all encounters, of any kind?

Telephone companies sell us voice plans because they know we're not going to use them. We're hiding from each other. People say that calls aren't efficient, but trying to bring efficiency into your intimacy can get you into a lot of trouble.

We expect more from technology and less from each other. We create technology to provide the illusion of companionship without the demands of friendship.

Teenagers talk about the idea of having each other's 'full attention.' They grew up in a culture of distraction. They remember their parents were on cell phones when they were pushed on swings as toddlers. Now, their parents text at the dinner table and don't look up from their BlackBerry when they come for end-of-school day pickup.