BEWARE OF BLACKBERRY

I got my first Blackberry about a year ago. It was one of the perks of having a boss who believes in the power of social media and staying connected. Within a month, my relationship with the device went from overwhelming to apathetic to love/hate. Who knew I would both love and hate receiving e-mails at all hours of the day? Getting an e-mail reminder on Sunday night about Monday morning’s staff meeting? Hate. Getting an e-mail Sunday night that Monday morning’s staff meeting has been postponed? Love!

My relationship with my phone/friend, “Blackberry,” slowly advanced to the obsessive phase, when the Blackberry becomes the “Crackberry.” I began checking e-mails, texts and missed calls whenever I had a moment of down time. As I began to explore my other Crackberry options, I began to pick up the habit of checking Facebook, CNN or PerezHilton on the train, waiting in line at Walgreens or even on commercial breaks (yikes). Sometimes I’d find myself aimlessly scrolling the cursor ball around the screen for no reason.

Even our President Elect, Barack Obama, admits that he has an obsessive relationship with his mobile device. A recent CNN ticker blog quoted Obama as saying that the Secret Service would have to pry his Blackberry from his hands if they intended to take it away from him for security reasons.

As I settle into 2009, my goal is to decrease my dependence on my Crackberry. I’m trying to remind myself that speed-texting is not a talent and responding to e-mails within seconds looks desperate. It’s a new year and a new me, and “Black” is the new “crack.” Back to Blackberry, and goodbye Crackberry.

Susie Schreiber
Senior Publicist