Some people can't sleep because they have insomnia. I can't sleep because I have the internet. (Digital Literacy)

There is a journalism class on campus that asks students to track all the methods they use to take in media over the course of a month (e.g. internet, radio, reading newspapers/magazines/etc, watching TV/DVD/movies/etc). Alternatively this post is looking at digital literacy, specifically my own use over the course of a week. I found it much less taxing to keep a record of when I wasn't glued to a screen. I love the internet. There, I said it. It's out in the open. I can stay in contact with friends and family. I talk and converse with friends around the country and around the world. I love being able to get whatever music I want whenever I want. I can watch videos on TED. I am addicted to using StumbleUpon to find new sources of information after I get my homework done. I love not having to carry a notepad around with me to write down all the little questions I come up with during the day to look up when I get to the library later in the week, instead I can look them up on my phone wherever I am. I use my TabletPC in class to take my notes without using paper, and to look things up in class to use for homework or contribute to the discussion taking place that moment. Digital technology is in every part of my life and I love it. I know some of the digital texts I want in my classroom, and have new ideas every week of how I intend to use them, and find new ones to use just as often. This digital era is my golden age, and I intend to use it to the greatest possible effect for my students. Recorded lectures for students to have on their MP3 players, Study guides, class notes, "for further study" and more all available to students and their parents on class websites.
But there is the potential danger to my enthusiasm for digital literacy. I fear it may become a crutch. Now that I get answers to questions right away from my phone, I no longer ponder on them for hours or days. My discussions with others about those said questions are gone, which removes the personal insight and opinions of those I interact with and replaces them with the flat text retrieved from the depths of Google.
Fortunately the outlook is not all doom and gloom. I look further into each answer than I did in the past. I take the simple surface information and move on to something else that I didn't know I had questions about. I start with a question about caffeine content in my afternoon soda, and find myself an hour later reading about how to grow poppies in my flowerbeds. The same opportunities exist for students learning by the inquiry method (YAY science teaching!). Their assignment may be to learn about wolves, they are given a starting point and where they end up is as limitless as their imaginations.
Digital technology creates both bridges and gaps in the opportunities for students and teachers to work in the digital medium. These lead me to make conscious decisions about why I am using or leaving out a particular digital technology in each lesson.