BlackBerry Addiction and You

[Berryman]

Here's a topical article from the well known CIO magazine of Feb.22.

"We've all heard the expression "BlackBerry Addiction." CrackBerry is a common word nowadays. But more often than not, these terms are used in humorous contexts and not to describe real issues that seriously affect people and their loved ones. For many of us, "quitting" our BlackBerrys or smartphones, or simply leaving them at work once in a while, isn't even a consideration. And that's really not good.

A few things happened this week that got me mulling the subject. First of all, I found myself in a BlackBerry-related skirmish after my girlfriend had to ask—and eventually—tell me to stop @#$%$#@ playing with myself three separate times while we were watching American Gangster. I'm usually good about keeping my smartphone in my pocket or on a distant shelf during non-working hours, but for some reason that night I kept subconsciously picking it up to check mail or my Viigo RSS reader. Not even Denzel and Russell shooting up the celluloid could keep my attention away from my BlackBerry.

Others have jokingly suggested in the past that my affinity for what I've come to think of as my little electronic Swiss Army knife has bloomed into an undesirable habit. ("You'd better be careful with that thing. You don't want to turn into one of those people," my brother warned recently.) But this was the first time it occurred to me that I might have a problem. And you know what They say: If you're asking yourself if you have a problem, you probably do.

Then I came across an article on the website of Canadian television broadcaster CTV about how Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC), a government agency, has issued a directive to its employees ordering them to cease BlackBerry use—at least for work purposes—overnight, during weekends and on holidays because they're throwing off staffers' work/life balance. The department's Deputy Minister Richard Fadden also wants to ban the Research In Motion devices from meetings—goodbye BlackBerry buzz. Apparently Ontario's Premier Dalton McGuinty has already barred BlackBerrys from his meetings.

Finally, I received a message on my BlackBerry with the subject line "Sheraton Chicago Cracks Down on Crackberries with BlackBerry Detox Challenge." This immediately piqued my interest, and I decided to speak with the hotel staff about the program. Rick Ueno, general manager of the Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers and a "former BlackBerry addict," told me that roughly two years ago he realized his BlackBerry use was getting out of hand. He decided to do something about it.

"If you really get addicted the way I was, it's a problem," Ueno says. "I would wake up in the middle of the night to get a drink of water and have to check my messages. I'd check [the BlackBerry] at traffic lights and everywhere else."

So he decided to retire his device and, in his words, go cold turkey. (Ueno says that’s the only way to quit.) It wasn't easy at first, but he soon realized that he could be more productive without a BlackBerry (using his laptop to check for e-mail instead). This way, he spends more face time with customers instead of being tethered to a handheld.

"The BlackBerry was stressing me out. I'm a **** of a lot more creative now," Ueno said. "I felt like that's all I used to do, e-mail all day, as opposed to working on customer connections. I feel a lot better without it."

BlackBerry-less in Chicago

[crackvegas78]

Dud there is nothing wrong with you. You are one of us now. I check my berry all the time, I am on it all the time at work. I still get stuff done

[Solachica]

I get stuff more done now tht I have the BB.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[surfcitybum]

I am a lot more productive with my BB than I ever was without it. I will never go back.

[radimus]

I check my Tilt at stoplights. Does that mean I make me a bad person.

And come to think of it, if you can't keep your hands off your BB during a movie with your woman either you need different woman or you need to pick better movies.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[Apollo_Creed]

Nothing is wrong with being addicted to a Berry. I just quit smoking after 24 years. Smoking can hurt my health and a Berry can't. You do the math!!

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[libuff]

the answer with the woman issue is to get her a BB... my wife just got a perl to match my 8830WE and we coudn't be happier... well except now she sends me too many PING!!!'s when i don't respond quick enough...

[dlgus]

Originally Posted by Berryman

Here's a topical article from the well known CIO magazine of Feb.22.

"We've all heard the expression "BlackBerry Addiction." CrackBerry is a common word nowadays. But more often than not, these terms are used in humorous contexts and not to describe real issues that seriously affect people and their loved ones. For many of us, "quitting" our BlackBerrys or smartphones, or simply leaving them at work once in a while, isn't even a consideration. And that's really not good.

A few things happened this week that got me mulling the subject. First of all, I found myself in a BlackBerry-related skirmish after my girlfriend had to ask—and eventually—tell me to stop @#$%$#@ playing with myself three separate times while we were watching American Gangster. I'm usually good about keeping my smartphone in my pocket or on a distant shelf during non-working hours, but for some reason that night I kept subconsciously picking it up to check mail or my Viigo RSS reader. Not even Denzel and Russell shooting up the celluloid could keep my attention away from my BlackBerry.

Others have jokingly suggested in the past that my affinity for what I've come to think of as my little electronic Swiss Army knife has bloomed into an undesirable habit. ("You'd better be careful with that thing. You don't want to turn into one of those people," my brother warned recently.) But this was the first time it occurred to me that I might have a problem. And you know what They say: If you're asking yourself if you have a problem, you probably do.

Then I came across an article on the website of Canadian television broadcaster CTV about how Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC), a government agency, has issued a directive to its employees ordering them to cease BlackBerry use—at least for work purposes—overnight, during weekends and on holidays because they're throwing off staffers' work/life balance. The department's Deputy Minister Richard Fadden also wants to ban the Research In Motion devices from meetings—goodbye BlackBerry buzz. Apparently Ontario's Premier Dalton McGuinty has already barred BlackBerrys from his meetings.

Finally, I received a message on my BlackBerry with the subject line "Sheraton Chicago Cracks Down on Crackberries with BlackBerry Detox Challenge." This immediately piqued my interest, and I decided to speak with the hotel staff about the program. Rick Ueno, general manager of the Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers and a "former BlackBerry addict," told me that roughly two years ago he realized his BlackBerry use was getting out of hand. He decided to do something about it.

"If you really get addicted the way I was, it's a problem," Ueno says. "I would wake up in the middle of the night to get a drink of water and have to check my messages. I'd check [the BlackBerry] at traffic lights and everywhere else."

So he decided to retire his device and, in his words, go cold turkey. (Ueno says that’s the only way to quit.) It wasn't easy at first, but he soon realized that he could be more productive without a BlackBerry (using his laptop to check for e-mail instead). This way, he spends more face time with customers instead of being tethered to a handheld.

"The BlackBerry was stressing me out. I'm a **** of a lot more creative now," Ueno said. "I felt like that's all I used to do, e-mail all day, as opposed to working on customer connections. I feel a lot better without it."

BlackBerry-less in Chicago

Hello, my name is dlgus, and I'm an addict.....of COURSE you check your bb for messages when you wake up to go potty--until now, I never thought it was a problem......

Then I suppose kissing Leroy goodnight isn't a good thing either?

hahahahahahahahaha

[cate]

It's not a problem, really.

It's a great thing, really! :]

[wirelessforever]

Originally Posted by Berryman

my girlfriend had to ask—and eventually—tell me to stop @#$%$#@ playing with myself three separate times while we were watching American Gangster. I'm usually good about keeping my smartphone in my pocket or on a distant shelf during non-working hours, but for some reason that night I kept subconsciously picking it up to check mail or my Viigo RSS reader. Not even Denzel and Russell shooting up the celluloid could keep my attention away from my BlackBerry.

This isn't cute. It's outrageously rude.

I cannot believe how frequently I need to leave my seat in movie theatres these days to walk down and tell some inconsiderate slob three rows down to stop playing with his phone during the movie because it is an unacceptable distraction while others are sitting in a darkened theatre trying to watch a movie.

The reason they turn the lights off in theatres is so that people can focus all their attention on the movie and not have any distractions.

If I were dating someone who insisted on playing with a phone during a movie, that, without question, would be our last date.

I love my BlackBerry as much as anyone. But if someone can't have basic common courtesy for others, they ought to seek professional help. Playing with your phone in a darkened theatre while others are watching a movie is terrible manners. Answering a call is just criminal. Turn the phones off when you are in movie theatres. If you can't put your life on hold for 90 minutes, you probably are too important to be seeing a movie and should just stay at your office all night.

[ojeng77]

Totally feel where you are coming from… my family has officially stamped me as antisocial. I am on the BB all the time. If I am not checking and replying to emails, I am figuring out new and exciting things about it…
They don’t call is a crackberry for nothing…LOL!
P.S. I sleep with mine!

Originally Posted by Berryman

Here's a topical article from the well known CIO magazine of Feb.22.

"We've all heard the expression "BlackBerry Addiction." CrackBerry is a common word nowadays. But more often than not, these terms are used in humorous contexts and not to describe real issues that seriously affect people and their loved ones. For many of us, "quitting" our BlackBerrys or smartphones, or simply leaving them at work once in a while, isn't even a consideration. And that's really not good.

A few things happened this week that got me mulling the subject. First of all, I found myself in a BlackBerry-related skirmish after my girlfriend had to ask—and eventually—tell me to stop @#$%$#@ playing with myself three separate times while we were watching American Gangster. I'm usually good about keeping my smartphone in my pocket or on a distant shelf during non-working hours, but for some reason that night I kept subconsciously picking it up to check mail or my Viigo RSS reader. Not even Denzel and Russell shooting up the celluloid could keep my attention away from my BlackBerry.

Others have jokingly suggested in the past that my affinity for what I've come to think of as my little electronic Swiss Army knife has bloomed into an undesirable habit. ("You'd better be careful with that thing. You don't want to turn into one of those people," my brother warned recently.) But this was the first time it occurred to me that I might have a problem. And you know what They say: If you're asking yourself if you have a problem, you probably do.

Then I came across an article on the website of Canadian television broadcaster CTV about how Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC), a government agency, has issued a directive to its employees ordering them to cease BlackBerry use—at least for work purposes—overnight, during weekends and on holidays because they're throwing off staffers' work/life balance. The department's Deputy Minister Richard Fadden also wants to ban the Research In Motion devices from meetings—goodbye BlackBerry buzz. Apparently Ontario's Premier Dalton McGuinty has already barred BlackBerrys from his meetings.

Finally, I received a message on my BlackBerry with the subject line "Sheraton Chicago Cracks Down on Crackberries with BlackBerry Detox Challenge." This immediately piqued my interest, and I decided to speak with the hotel staff about the program. Rick Ueno, general manager of the Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers and a "former BlackBerry addict," told me that roughly two years ago he realized his BlackBerry use was getting out of hand. He decided to do something about it.

"If you really get addicted the way I was, it's a problem," Ueno says. "I would wake up in the middle of the night to get a drink of water and have to check my messages. I'd check [the BlackBerry] at traffic lights and everywhere else."

So he decided to retire his device and, in his words, go cold turkey. (Ueno says that’s the only way to quit.) It wasn't easy at first, but he soon realized that he could be more productive without a BlackBerry (using his laptop to check for e-mail instead). This way, he spends more face time with customers instead of being tethered to a handheld.

"The BlackBerry was stressing me out. I'm a **** of a lot more creative now," Ueno said. "I felt like that's all I used to do, e-mail all day, as opposed to working on customer connections. I feel a lot better without it."

BlackBerry-less in Chicago

[aton.amen]

I am an ADDICT!
I think that is the first step!
And that is were I am gonna stop...lol

[ojeng77]

I am defiantly an addict, and I am admitting it too.
I should have been in bed 3 hrs ago and I have been on this site and playing with my BB all this time… all cause of the crackberry 

[AZA43]

I too am an addict. I have no doubt about it. I don't feel sorry about it in any way shape or form.

By the way, the full text of the CIO article cited at the start of the thread is available here. That's only the first page in the first post.

AZA

[Brandie_red]

I am an addict and proud of it!!!