This study examined the risks associated with increased reliance upon technology, including e-mail, instant messages, and cellular phones. Subjects were undergraduate college students ranging in age from 17 to 29. A sample of 40 students was taken from a small liberal arts college in Pennsylvania. A second sample of 25 engineering students was taken from a large university in Illinois. Responses from these samples were merged with a pre-existing data set of 172. The following variables were assessed: cellular phone use, instant messenger use, and interference of cellular phones and instant messenger with work, school, and daily schedules. Another scale assessed attitudes regarding e-mail and perceived convenience of technology. Preferences and actual modes of communication were evaluated through separate ratings of communication patterns in relationships with parents, teachers, close friends, and significant others. Conscientiousness and agreeableness, two dimensions of the Big Five Mini-markers Scale, produced significant results. As hypothesized, differences between extraverts and introverts were found in regard to e-mail and cellular phone communication. College major and sex also produced significant results on communication preferences and behavior. Future research on the harmful effects and possible benefits are needed. (Contains 16 references.) (Author/JDM)