You are having a conversation with a friend about last night. Bzzz. You are genuinely interested in what she has to say. Bzzz. You don’t want to be rude. Bzzz. But, that impossible-to-ignore vibrating phone in your pocket gets the best of you.

Cell phones are the epitome of instant gratification: you can keep in touch with other people wherever you are, whenever you feel like it. Not only can you call or message people 24 hours a day, seven days a week, you are equipped with a portable camera, watch, alarm clock, calculator, video camera, mp3 player and sometimes even Internet. But when your cell phone becomes glued to your hand as if the two have morphed together, forming an extra limb, isn’t this a problem?

Cell phones are great; don’t get me wrong! I am just as guilty as anyone of treating my phone like a lifeline. However, there has to be a middle ground between being completely disconnected and being dependent on a phone so much that you can’t leave home without it.

Why is it that we can’t part with our phones without anxiety? If we are separated from our phones, even for a short time, we are completely lost and feel cut off from the rest of the world. Think of all the plans you are missing out on! Leaving the house without a phone is disorienting; losing a phone is a catastrophe. I never took the time to memorize any of my friends’ numbers because that information is stored in my phone. At that point, I might as well be Tom Hanks in “Cast Away” and start up a conversation with a volleyball.

Nowadays, an unanswered text or a missed call is a catalyst for drama. God forbid, your phone runs out of charge or you forget it someplace. A missed call implies one of two things: You are extremely preoccupied (probably busy climbing Mount Everest or discovering a cure for the common cold), or you are obviously an asshole who screens and ignores certain calls. Sometimes I even find myself wondering how people ever made plans or kept in touch before Facebook, Twitter, e-mail, AIM, texting, Webcams and wireless phones (all of which are relatively recent technologies).

Since most people want to avoid the social stamina of being the “guy who never picks up his phone,” mobile phones are hardly separated from their owners. (Yes, owners. Phones are almost as important as living, breathing pets).

It irks me tremendously when I am with a group of people, trying to have a real conversation, and I see phones everywhere: on the dinner table, in and out of people’s pockets and purses and, more often than not, in their hands. I understand the allure of keeping in touch at all times, but too much of a good thing can become excess. When I am trying to talk to someone who is simultaneously updating her Facebook status, texting her mom and playing Tetris while attempting to listen to me, I feel more isolated and less connected than ever. Something that is supposed to enhance communication and social interaction is paradoxically isolating people from one another.

Cell phones have become ubiquitous, important and unavoidable. I am the first to admit that I am addicted to my phone. However, I think that the best solution is to be free every once in a while. Leave your phone behind! Live in the moment! We ought to attempt to give up our phones every now and then (even if it’s just to prove that we are able to).