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Fri, Feb 22, 2008 12:46 EST

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Posted by: Al Sacco in Soapbox Topic: Personal ManagementBlog: Mobile WorkHorse
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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.
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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.
Sane Canadians. Crazy Hotels?
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 hell 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 ChicagoThe
I'm all for disconnecting. I only use a regular cell phone and have no need or desire to be that connected with my email at this time. I find it distracting and inappropriate for individuals to be sending and reviewing emails and taking calls while present at meetings, dinners, movies, etc. Got a life??? Not if you're not paying attention to it!
I just recently upgraded at the beginning of 2008 to a BlackBerry Pearl and can already tell that having an "always" on device has started intruding in my life. However I wouldn't be able to give it up, mainly because it is my one and only phone number for work, personal and all others.
Now that I am connected to email all the time, I do find I check it more frequently because I want to keep my inbox clear. The less emails that are in it, the fewer fires I have going at the time. At least that is my excuse. Having two devices probably would help to separate work from personal, and I can see that it would mean less stress in my life. Plus as you found out, the wife wouldn't give that look of "put it down or else."
I posted another BlackBerry addiction-related poll today that includes feedback on this post from websites like CrackBerry.com. Please cast your vote and let us know how you categorize your smartphone use.
AS