“Permissions”, boundaries and self all go together.

there is no self-ness without a boundary between self/not-self.

boundaries exist only when they both:

• demarcate a true/false line (self=true on this side, self=false on that side)

AND

• there is a negotiation that occurs upon the crossing of that demarcation in which permission is granted for the crossing.

with food, the person who does not have the negotiation every time a morsel crosses the outside/inside body boundary risks losing the boundary and losing the self in eating.  Part of establishing boundaries with food (and so properly enabling the self to exist), is setting aside times and places to eat: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner.

[But what about a society that eats at all times and all places?]

with electronic media (including phones, television, radio, computers, devices that connect to the cloud), boundaries, along with a strong sense of permissions, are important for holding onto the self.

David Allen, in a different language, addresses this in his books (Allen, 2002, 2008).  Merlin Mann sounds like he’s writing a book about it.