So I'm running on the treadmill at the W in Los Angeles yesterday morning and I had an interesting thought - is our love for technology starting to turn us into heartless animals?

Why, you ask?

Well, the lovely W Hotels have treadmills that allowed me to watch CNN while I sweat. So, as I'm heading into my second mile, up on the screen flashes the headline "Consumers Place Computers at Top of Holiday Wish List." That's fine. Sometimes I kind of want a new shiny model of my 2005 Dell desktop that hums at night, but I'm not going to cry about it.

However, what I found most disturbing is the ranking of this list and that it has changed quite dramatically over the past year.

Let's do the visual thing.

2006
1. Clothing
2. Peace and Happiness
3. Money
4. Computers

2007
1. Computers
2. Peace and Happines
3. Big-screen TV
4. Clothes
5. Cash

Wow. The American Apparel and Footwear Association must be super bummed..."Clothes" is having a bad year.

I really love that the Consumer Electronics Association commissioned this survey. I'm in public relations, I get the whole "survey" thing. But now, more than ever, I feel disenchanted by the American public and its values. This quote makes me feel dirty inside:

“The fact that they want computers over clothing and peace and happiness is amazing,” said Shawn DuBravac, the CEA’s economist. “It’s a testament to what the tech industry has done to empower the consumer.”

Empower? Just because consumers have jacked up priorities and like tangible objects more than things money can't buy?

I, like most 25-year-olds who aren't complete luddites, enjoy me some technology every day. I can't go without my Blackjack, my laptop (work mandated...that's why), my iPod, etc. without some sort of minor meltdown. However, if someone said to me, "If you want the world to be harmonious, your smart phone and all its accoutrements and accessories are out the window," I would say to them "Screw it - this crappy thing can't stay charged worth a damn anyways!"