Noise Addiction, A New Study

The Kaiser Family Foundation published its recent study (as reported by the New York Times) of the number of hours per day the average young person in America spends on-line, tuned-in, in touch, plugged-in, updated, multitasking, surfing, up-loading, down-loading, blogging, FaceBooking, Twittering, etc. (candy for the ears and eyes; it doen't count texting). Now--seven and one-half (7 1/2) hours a day compared to six and a half hours five years ago. That's practically "every waking hour (except for school). The title of the article is "Children Awake? Then They're Probably Online."
I'm reminded of a lecture by Barbara Brown Taylor (The Lyman Beecher Lectures, 1994) who highlights the importance and natural need of silence in our lives. Two quotes, "Most people are so used to wading through the noise that they do not even notice how deep it has gotten." And, "How can we commend it (silence) to our young people "for whom noise is as addictive as any drug." (Published: When God is Silent, Cloister Books, 1998)
Is this making a difference in our culture? To quote the article, "Many experts believe that media use is changing youthful attitudes." (Read the article, New York Times, January 20, 2010.) WHAT IS YOUR EXPERIENCE AND WHAT DO YOU THINK?