Before, one had to make a conscious choice to get a compact camera. People who wanted to take pictures had a choice-- do I get a SLR and have all the bells and

Before, one had to make a conscious choice to get a compact camera. People who wanted to take pictures had a choice-- do I get a SLR and have all the bells and whistles and be "serious", or do I get a compact camera? Also, appearances matter-- do I want to look serious? Now, a pretty excellent compact camera is in pretty much everyone's hands. So the question becomes-- is it worth another camera to be serious? Would I even carry it anywhere?