The Associated Press looks at social networking’s convergence with mobile devices:AP Associated Press

Gina Reno’s friends don’t expect much eye contact from her when they get together. More often then not, she’ll be staring at her cell phone, tapping away feverishly with calloused hands, communicating with people she’s never once met in person.

“My friends would get so mad at me because I’m constantly with my phone in my hand,” the lifelong Chicagoan said of her tendency to log in to a service called Hookt on her Boost Mobile handset whenever she’s got a free moment. Fortunately, Reno added, her pals “have gotten used to it. They say, `Ah, let her alone. Just leave her alone in a corner with a phone.'”

Now, if only her employer was so understanding: “I get in trouble at work all the time. My boss has to yell at me to put it away,” said Reno, 36, a sales representative for a magazine subscription marketing company.

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