(CNN) -- We've all probably done it -- whether it was texting about dinner plans on a company cell phone or updating friends about a vacation via company e-mail.

But can a company look at your personal exchanges on its electronic devices?

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In the digital era, employees often are expected to be in constant contact with their managers. The use of cell phones and mobile internet service has skyrocketed over the last decade, and some of the growth can be attributed to companies giving cell phones and smartphones to their employees, said Lee Rainie, director of the Pew Internet & American Life Project.

A Pew study found in January that 80 percent of American adults have cell phones and 30 percent of them access the internet on their phones. In 2000, 50 percent of American adults used cell phones, according to a Gallup Poll, and phones rarely supported access to the web.

As the electronic leash grows tighter on employees, it is becoming increasingly difficult to separate home and work communications, Rainie said. Employees may overlook the fact that shopping for personal items on a work computer or perusing Facebook on a company mobile phone could be subject to scrutiny, especially by private companies.

"In a boundary-less environment, when workers are toggling back and forth between work and personal use, they don't realize their boss has the right to go back through their browser or their text messaging trail," Rainie said.

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