America is witnessing an epidemic of hand held phone lust! We have become a nation of techno-addicts — and there is a trillion-dollar industry feeding the hunger! Those overnight lines for the new Apple device are a clear symptom.

Why are we relentlessly tethered to instant communication? Today Americans suffer from isolation and loss of physical contact from one another. It's frightening to see folks crave the iPhone 4s ("Apple fans get early dose of iPhone fever," June 25). Anyone suffering from an addiction will tell you, the appetite only grows with the disease. There is a constant need for newer and larger "fixes." When will we recognize what is happening to us?

Rosalind N. Ellis, Baltimore