Stalker-ish In-Person, But Not Online?

This post is inspired by the From Left to Write book club choice, Following Polly by Karen Bergreen. Karen met with some members of our group in NYC last month and she was delightful in person.

From Left to Write members chatting with Karen Bergreen at booksigning at the Flatotel in NYC.

I'm addicted to technology - not just for the shopping and keeping in touch that I do with my phone and laptop, but because it's an enabler for my curiousity. I surf to confirm schedules and information/addresses, solve mysteries and get answers - and while the main character in the book Following Polly doesn't carry a cell phone with her (I know, what?? How does she SURVIVE?!), she basically does the same thing, but in person. So do I think it's weird that she chooses to follow someone around? YES. Could I relate? Hmmm....

If I were to run into someone I haven't seen in a while - or a celebrity - and I don't have the opportunity to ask in person what they're up to, my natural inclicnation is to do a search for their name online and see what they're doing. I want to know why they were wherever I was - visiting family? Attending an event? Filming a movie or TV series? - or what they've been up to (where does my former colleague work these days? Did s/he move here?).

Since I don't consider doing an online search to find out the latest about someone as stalking them, am I a hypocrite for thinking that doing the same in person is freakish and wrong? I can't completely fault the main character for doing the same, but without the phone or laptop. I just can't help but think that if it were me and I had no internet access, I'd just go up and ask. Such a novel concept: face to face communication and information gathering ;-)

What do you think? Is searching for someone online crossing a line of propriety?