Rage against the ipod

As technology makes it easier for us to connect to others, are we ending up isolating ourselves even further?
This thought crossed my mind recently. Anywhere you go in New York u see people with an ipod, the two most common places would be the gym and the subway. I imagine most new yorkers spend a large part of their non-working/non-sleeping hours at either of these two places. One would imagine that any place where many individuals congregate would be a place where individuals communicate. But the ipod ensures that most people come to the gym , leave the gym without having uttered a single world to anyone(yeah I know that's what gym buddies are for).
Throw isn't the personal TV's attatched to every cardio machine, and there is absolutely no reason to glance at someone else.
The subway is no better. I have found myself in the subway, listening to music and reading a magazine simultaneously as do so many others. Shutting out the rest of the world.
What about the days when I don't carry a magazine or a cd player? I look around and then immediately look away when met with a blank stare.
I feel almost scared of looking at someone lest they take offense. I wonder why its so hard to even smile at someone.
There was an interesting take on technology I read sometime back. Referring to the internet mostly, I am paraphrasing,:"technology has made it easier to connect and also easier to isolate oneself. Ultimately it just accentuates our basic tendencies.