
I came across this article this morning, '
Blackberry users becoming addicted to gadget' and it prompted me to write a bit of a response, seeing as though I am the proud owner of a Crackberry myself.
I initially bought the Blackberry for my hubby. I was just going to use it whilst I was in hospital following the birth of Kid3 as I knew I would want access to my emails and of course Twitter. I did, however, develop quite an attachment to it, so 8 weeks after my hospital stay I am still in possession of it and hubby has another phone of mine that I have done away with (!!).
My attachment to it though falls short of addiction, I think. I say 'I think' because I would be lost without it however I don't look at it constantly, nor take it to bed with me (unless hubby is away in which case I always take a phone to bed with me, Crackberry or otherwise). It is often on silent as I can't be arsed answering every call that comes my way. I'm a little bit of a 'screener' at times, plus I get so sick of any wally calling up for any old thing. Pisses me right off. But I digress. I was trying to establish if I were addicted or not. If I was at dinner with friends, I would ignore my phone at all times, the only exceptions to this are A) I'm out and a babysitter is at home with my kids or B) I'm out and hubby is home with kids. In these instances I will look at the phone to see if it the person taking care of my kids. If it is, I answer, if not, I let the call go to voicemail, as that is why it is there!! Emails ping constantly, so much so that I have them on silent (except for one account although I don't rush to check that unless I am alone, then I don't rush, I saunter LOL). So, I'm not in a mad rush to be in contact with everybody, but, I would be pretty upset if I didn't have my Crackberry and at a bit of a loss. Although, I would be quite willing to trade it for an iphone .. which begs my next point - will the iphone be the next crackphone?? Is it brand specific or function specific? A mobile phone with the ability to check emails and connect to the web no matter what brand surely makes it capable of being addictive, no?
So, would I suffer withdrawals without my Blackberry? Honestly, yes. But, I would suffer withdrawals without any form of communication so I'm not totally sure it's the Blackberry I'm addicted to, rather I'm addicted to communicating. And that is definitely something I could never live without.