It occurred to me today as I was making my return train journey back to Amsterdam from my office space in Leiden (a distance of about 60 kilometers), that I might actually be a Crackberry addict. For those of you still living in the 19th century, or who haven’t heard the term before, Urban Dictionary gives us this definition.
Nickname for the popular RIM communication device named Blackberry. The device, which is a phone, PDA, and e-mail appliance has gained outrageous popularity. Users/owners are typically addicted to checking e-mail and swapping short messages on the device. It appears as though they are addicted as a crackhead is to the pipe.
I never really believed that it could happen to me because I wasn’t all that hung up on phone gadgets, and actually thought smartphones were just a bit of a techno-wank. Then my ever faithful Sony-Ericsson C902 was stolen literally right out from under my nose and life took an unexpected turn; I became a Blackberry Curve owner. I was due a new phone from my mobile phone mob – being contract renewal time – and I thought to myself, let’s get a Blackberry. Really I bought it because, -1- I wanted to try a smartphone, -2- I didn’t want to become just another iPhone fanboy stroking his iPhone in public to the purring of other adoring fanboys, and -3- I’d heard Blackberrys were supposed to be “really cool”.
Right away from my first use I knew my new Blackberry was different, it could do fun stuff I’d never been able to do before, like browsing, and gmail stuff on the run through native Blackberry apps. Then I found the Google apps and started using Gmail with them and I started to spend more time with the funny little thing in my hand. A week later one of the guys at work asked me if I had tried the Facebook app yet, to which I replied, ‘oooOOOOooo… a FACEBOOK app’. Which was actually my ‘no’ answer. So I fired up the browser and navigated my way to the FB app and installed it.
1 and 2 and… BOOM!…
That sure hit the vein!
Ever since I’ve given up reading on the train in the morning and afternoon ride, instead happily sitting there reading lots and lots of updates, making lots and lots of comments, sending emails… sending a few more emails (FB emails that is) and feeling a very special kind of high. In fact I’m even at the point now when I walk to the office from the station and vice versa I am usually Crackberry Facebooking. I have no idea if that’s illegal, but it probably should be given how good it feels and what a rush it can be. At the very least, it’s dangerous because I am sure I’m going to walk out onto a main road during a moment of intense status updating. On the other hand I am staying in contact with people a lot more, and I like to think making up for lost time socialising when I gave up my social life during 2008 so the world could have IPTV from some mob I worked for.
They say admitting you have a problem is the first step to overcoming it, but I’m not sure in the case of Crackberry addiction that’s strictly true. I admit that I might actually be spending more time than is healthy plugged into my precious… err… my Blackberry Curve 8900, but it’s new tech and mobile tech at that, which is the way of the future so embracing it is actually in my best interest. Stay ahead of the curve (pun jokingly intended) and you’ll never find yourself left behind. Someone famous said that, or something like it, I can’t remember who, but you get the idea.
I see that Crackberry addiction is actually a syndrome that is going to become more widespread and mainstream as time goes on. The other big mobile players have worked out that this kind of gadget fever comes with dominant market share, and sizeable amounts of consumer spending. Where there’s large amounts of money, there will be corporate whores and sharks close by working out a pack strategy for how to get in on the action and get more people hooked. Is it a bad thing? I’d say no more so than Facebook itself. Like all things tech, it’s up to you to remember to find a happy balance.
(This entry written on my Blackberry)
Andy.
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