Get Off the Phone and Live

This is why I don't have a cellphone--or at least why I don't even know its number: Cellphones take a toll on family life, says a new study.

The study, which followed more than 1,300 adults over 2 years, found that those who consistently used a mobile phone or pager throughout the study period were more likely to report negative "spillover" between work and home life -- and, in turn, less satisfaction with their family life.

Spillover essentially means that the line between work and home begins to blur. Work life may invade home life -- when a parent is taking job-related calls at home, for instance -- or household issues may start to take up work time.

In the latter scenario, a child may call mom at work, not to say that he aced his English test but that the "microwave exploded," explained Noelle Chesley, an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and the author of the study.

Yeah, see, that's why I also don't work outside the home and don't have a microwave. But hey, I'm just a housewife with a webserver, what do I know. The problem with "spillover" seems to affect working women most of all, and goes both ways--family life spills into work and work spills into family life more for women than for men. I'm shocked--shocked!