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people who rely on machines have given up something vital yet intangible. They've lost the ability to think it through a navigation problem themselves. They have become slaves to machines out of intellectual laziness, and the laziness makes them less smart.

For many people, web browsing has replaced book reading

. Recent studies suggest that their attention spans are reduced as a result.

When we rely on a computer to look up facts, instead of our own memory, the price may not be obvious. But I believe it's there, and it real. It's a point to ponder for sure. Easy answers aren't always free.

"As children and parents are attaching more and more to technology, they're detaching from each other, and we know as a species we need to connect," Rowan said. "We're really pack animals. We need to be connected to other human beings. That's just a fact for any living organism; it doesn't do well when it's on its own."

The ability to self-regulate -- that is, to manage our own emotions and behavior -- is being undermined, too, Rowan said. If mom stops to talk to someone on the street, for example, children are reaching for the phone instead of joining the conversation or otherwise figuring out how to amuse themselves for a few moments. "These children are not entertaining themselves, they're being entertained by a device ... so there's no creativity, there's no imagination, no self-initiation," Rowan said. "These things are very, very important for sustainability and your own self-gratification and happiness when you're older."