Crackberry, I mean, Blackberry
June 19, 2008 – 11:53 pmA major undercurrent in today’s world is the ability/need to get our news and email at all times, even on the go. Nothing represents this phenomenon more than the proliferation of the Blackberry, iPhone, and other such devices. We have become addicted and almost enslaved to our Blackberries. One of the major consequences has been our inability to ever actually get away from our work, from the “news”, and from the mumbo-jumbo being discussed by today’s news/media outlets straining for material to cover the 24-7 world.
Be it late at night, or on the weekend, there is a constant pressure to check our emails, to stay tuned in, to make sure we aren’t missing anything. I have been to movies, to dinners, to coffee, and everywhere I turn, the site is a similar one. People taking away from their interactions with others to fiddle with their Blackberries. My question then is WHY? I just don’t get it. Maybe that’s because I don’t have one myself, maybe it’s because I didn’t even have a cell phone until 2004 (seriously, I’m not lying!). Whatever the reason may be, I just don’t get it.
When I am out and about, I don’t need, and in fact I don’t want to check my email, surf the Internet, or Google chat. I want to enjoy attempting to live in the moment, which is already hard enough for me to do without another added distraction. I know the counter argument is that you can still enjoy what you are doing, and that may be true. But, how about for those around us? To the people we are spending time with? Are they still able to enjoy our company, when we are busy trying to multi-task: perhaps having a conversation, while writing an email, while waiting for yet another email. What would happen if we just put our Blackberries away and simply enjoyed being free from our email and the Internet? In most cases nothing would happen! What happened a few years ago, when most of us didn’t have them…
And it’s not just in our personal lives where the Blackberry phenomenon has taken hold. Over the past few months, I was in countless meetings where most of the people in the room were busy doing something on their Blackberries. Most likely, they were writing work emails (though you never know, seems like having a Blackberry provides an easy cover to do some browsing of the Internet, some on-line shopping, some chatting with friends- can’t you just see the Seinfeld episode here? just picture the trouble George would have gotten himself into with a Blackberry during meetings). Everyone is in their own world, instead of paying attention to the actual meeting. Result: long, drawn-out meetings, where not much gets accomplished (you could argue that this happens at most meetings anyway!).
To be fair, I have also been on the positive end of a Blackberry. When it comes to providing directions or the answer to a friendly (or not so friendly) wager, they are great!
Isn’t there the possibility, though, that we might be better off without them? At least when we are with others in our free time? Or is this to be our curse- never being able to unplug from the virtual world, and forgetting what human interactions without a mini-computer in our pocket are all about?
One Response to “Crackberry, I mean, Blackberry”
i say everything in moderation. i think we are blessed to have the ability to stay connected than ever before. there are always those moments where you could be getting back to a distant friend, reading the latest news, etc. you don’t always have the time to be sitting in front of your computer and in a way, these devices help you use your time more efficiently (so that you could be spending more of that one-on-one device-free time with that special person or whoever!). but yes, there are definitely the downs and i think if people can find a balance and manage their time wisely, we would be making the best out of both worlds.
By CW on Jun 25, 2008