Forget it. Nope! It can’t be done. I for one am unable to fully shake the Interweb.

Mentally prepared to ditch all calls, emails, texts, and social network pings, I was convinced I would be able to enjoy my nine day beach vacation in good old fashioned peace and quiet, exactly for the courage to disconnect myself from constant digital connectivity.

I know, probably no small feat for someone otherwise “always on” (I work in New York, on Wall Street, and for a telco. Oy!), the idea was, just once, no Blackberry voice or office email, no laptop, no iPod or iPad, or whatever else would get me to the Web.

Yet, come Monday (day three), I was back “on the wagon”, scouring for IP access as if I had money riding on it.

Turns out, according to The Economist I do!

In the current issue of the popular international affairs weekly (yes siree, for this week I did turn from their digital mag to enjoying the printed copy), Lexington’s column quips about “the air-conditioned Puritan” and “why Americans cannot enjoy holidays”.

Apparently Americans last year kept a stunning 436 million vacation days unused; a case of what he calls a “vacation deprivation” scandal and that “something cultural” may fuel this trend.

Apart from some possible idiosyncratic drive, I suspect with 2009 for most a year of economically trying times, Americans not so much “forgot” to take their vacation as they opted to stay at the office for fear of losing their jobs.

I also suspect of those US vacation days that actually did get taken, many vacationers probably remained solidly connected to their home office while away. To that end, their brought-along Android phones, Blackberrys, or iPhones were tasked to guarantee sufficient “remote access” productivity while away from their desks.

Indeed, according to a recent US Mobile Messaging Study conducted by Osterman Research, 79% of respondents take work-related devices with them on vacation. Nearly half of those survey respondents admitted to traveling up to 10 miles just to check email during their vacation.

For that matter, the volume of American off time forgone is likely much greater that Lexington suggests. This week yours truly certainly couldn’t help but answer at least the most urgent office emails – even if it meant walking all the way to the local harbor, in pursuit of optimal “all bars” connectivity.

By the way, over in Europe, a recent study by the German IT trade association Bitkom finds around two thirds of the German workforce is prepared to respond to business calls and emails outside office hours – even if they’re away on holidays.

Sounds familiar?