In today’s society, most of us carry a smartphone so that we can stay connected to the world through calls, text messages, emails and social media sites like Facebook, Twitter and Google+. And while being instantly connected to our social world certainly allows us to keep up with what’s happening in real-time, there times when it may be pushing us further away from appreciating what’s happening right in front of us.

Valentine’s Day was a great reminder of how we as a technologically-connected society sometimes run the risk of straying from traditional values like sitting down face-to-face and just talking with those we’re closest to. Even when we do decide to set aside time for person-to-person interaction and communication, it can be tough to disconnect! Our phones may chime or buzz, and we can’t help but wonder what may be happening. So has technology become a major detriment to our ability to spend quality time?

Of course, technology has vastly improved our efficiency, education and, in many ways, our connectedness. But when it comes to maintaining deep personal connections, be sure to know your limits to prevent phones, computers and tablets from taking their toll on close relationships. So how can we do this on a day-to-day basis? Here’s one idea from Chriz Ziegler over at The Verge, who believes that “Glanceable Information” could be a possible solution.

The concept is devilishly simple: present the critical information that you need to have in a beautiful way that requires no brain power to interpret.

One of the oldest examples of glanceable information, he explains, is your own wristwatch. “It’s perhaps the only gadget in our lives where we can interpret all of the information it’s conveying to us in under a second.” Zeigler suggests a new tyle of wristwatch (such as InPulse or MetaWatch) that can be programmed to update with only the most crucial information. Thus it will be less of a distraction, and allow the wearer to shut down their phone and all other electronics in order to continue on with our dinner or conversation, giving our undivided attention to friends and family.

So let us know what you think: Would this concept be useful to assist in re-connecting with those around us?