Not only possible, but likely in some cases—especially if we’re talking about workplace activities that involve concentration and time to think.

We can’t deny that today we’re using many marvelous tools for accessing and communicating information—e-mail, instant messaging, tweeting, texting, Facebook, the Internet—all instantly accessible through our handheld communicators. These capabilities would have been considered magical by our grandparents when they were young. And there’s no question that they’ve provided huge enhancements in our business and personal lives. Connectivity is freeing and empowering and it has undeniable benefits—but it’s not without a Dark Side.

Think about our work environment. Among other things, workplace success involves varying degrees of thinking, analyzing, planning, and problem-solving. What do these activities require? Typically, relevant information and enough time to truly concentrate on the issues at hand. But what do our magical tools give us? Often, mountains of information to be digested—is the term “information overload” familiar? And they give us never-ending streams of e-mails and IMs and texts and tweets and updates— interruptions and intrusions that “have to” be dealt with, usually quickly. We’ve taught each other that responses can’t wait and that we have to constantly be interrupting whatever else we’re doing to answer these persistent pokes.

This constant stop-start mode isn’t conducive to optimal thinking. It’s been estimated that it takes the mind 10 to 20 times as long to recover and refocus after an interruption than the length of the interruption itself. The inevitable result? Scattered, disjointed thinking—not what’s needed to do mental deep dives, solve problems, or create.

Given the business we’re in, maybe we should thoughtfully consider this statement from William Powers in his provocative book, Hamlet’s Blackberry: “When work is all about darting around screens, we’re not doing something that’s even more valuable than thinking quickly: thinking creatively.”

What we need is enough undisturbed time to let our senses absorb and our brains relax and work. But undisturbed time—disconnected time—is becoming a luxury. And it’s a luxury that’s being gobbled up, Pac-Man-style, by all of our new toys and capabilities, not to mention the demands of our jobs.

And if that’s not enough, there’s some evidence that we’re actually becoming addicted to these interruptions that constantly get in our way. Our brains are being rewired to seek out distractions and to juggle even more tasks. In essence, we’re becoming addicted to distraction. In her book, Alone Together, Sherry Turkle tells us that 27% of Facebook users log on in the bathroom. Seems like we can’t wait to access our screens to see what’s next, what’s new, and what we can do NOW.

So, our tools may be wireless, but our brains are becoming more and more tightly tethered to them. The familiar consumer ads ask us if we “Got milk?” I don’t know about milk, but I know we’ve got irony. The same tools that are enticing us and freeing us in some ways are also wiring us and binding us in others.

So what to do? The evolving tools and capabilities are undoubtedly seductive. But seduction can carry a price, as we’ve seen above. Maybe our job is to pay enough attention so we can recognize the price. Then we can develop creative and productive alternatives if we decide we really don’t want to pay it.