Crackberry Addiction

Blackberries are seeing a great deal of use, both by professional people and people who just love to stay connected, but people are slowly realizing that there's a bit of a darker side to this admittedly useful device. The term “crackberry” came into existence to address the fact that people were getting more and more addicted to these attractive little gadgets, and though we might use the term jokingly, both on ourselves and on our friends, how close is it to the truth?

One of the most attractive things about the Blackberry is its multi-functional appeal. A Blackberry can serve as your phone, your PDA and your email, and you'll find that if you carry one, that you can always get in touch with people. Many businesses use them for on-call work, and many busy people find that they are a great way to organize their lives. However, it's always true that you can have too much of a good thing, and when that thing is getting in contact with other people, you can find yourself getting stretched quite thin indeed!

How can you tell if you have a Blackberry addiction? Interestingly enough, the signs for Blackberry addiction are quite similar to that of any sort of dependence on a drug. One sign that you might have an addiction to your Blackberry is whether you will disrupt your life to answer it. Will you check it while talking with other people, or while you are driving? You also might find that another sign of addiction might be that you get obsessive about entering things into it. As soon as you get some information, do you automatically reach out to enter it into your Blackberry?

The absolute best way to find out if you are addicted to your Blackberry, however, is by thinking about how you feel if you were told you had to give it up. Feeling vaguely annoyed and thinking of other ways to keep in contact is a fairly healthy reaction; getting angry, feeling strong anxiety or trying to bargain are not. If the feeling of being without your Blackberry is extremely distressful to you, it's time to think about why.

If you find that you are experiencing so-called crackberry addiction, there are a few steps that you can take.

Decide when you can use it.

Even if you check it as often as once an hour, or once every two hours, you'll find that having a schedule can help a great deal.

Leave it at home

If you don't need it (need in this case being define as “for work” or “family member in the hospital”) take off for a day without it. A certain amount of withdrawal might be seen, but this can teach you a lot about how much you use it.

Get rid of it

This is a last ditch solution, but you'll find that if you are having serious problems, that it might be necessary. People are already finding that dependence on their Blackberry can put a strain on all their relationships, so don't let this happen to you.

An addiction to technology can sneak up on you, and it can have severely detrimental effects on your life. Take some time to really think about what your Blackberry means and how you use it.