I'm addicted – and it's starting to hurt!

I had trouble breathing as I read this, at the thought of not checking the blackberry everytime it buzzes. I too was asked to leave it in the kitchen so that my friend and I could have a conversation. I know it's a problem...I just don't know if I'm strong enough to leave it behind.

Great admission Danielle!

I also was addicted to my berry, between 2006 and 2007, until in my case, my eyes began to lose their ability to adjust from the tiny blackberry screen to the standard vision. Things would be fuzzy for a few minutes. Then is when I realized it was time to slow down. Like you, I began to take baby steps, and now I'm lucky enough to be in front of the monitor more often than my blackberry.

So, you're very brave to start taking baby steps. Sooner or later your addiction will pass though. Mine did ease up .

Lately though, there is a new addiction that now has me actively involved with my berry again, when not near my computer, and that is Twittering.

So, I don't know what to tell you.

There is always Celebrex.

good article. i am not addicted but I see a lot of this from chuckles!! oooooooooooooh

Thanks for making me aware of yet another addiction.. Great article!

Wow, Danielle you described me to a tee! And my children warned me...but they have forbidden me to Facebook them!!! LOL

I don't have a blackberry; at least not yet, but at one point I was addicted to my phone and the capabilities it had. I was constantly checking emails, text messages, and just surfing the web, and finally one day after reading an alarmingly long email from my friend I just couldn't respond. Now this had nothing to do with what she wrote I was just feed up with it. My eyes hurt from staring to long and my thumbs were starting to cramp; it was just ridiculous. I started thinking about how life was before my phone; strange but true, and I think about it often, and I missed it. I missed having to wait till I was home to check messages and emails; I missed not being to search the web endlessly. Sadly I actually liked those days better. It’s been about 4 months without my high tech-phone and I don’t miss it at all. I enjoy having something to just make quick calls with and not being tempted to check my facebook every five minutes. Every so often ill get that long text from friends but I’ve given up on the long replies and either call them or just make it short. My thumb and eyes no longer ache at the sight of the phone. I know that with the way our phone are today it’s so hard to just step away but I found that I was better off without the immediate up date. I would advise anyone who is looking for a way out of their texting habits is to just take it slow, and if all else fails just turn off any extra added items on your phone; that’s what I had to do, and I’m so happy I did.

I applaud you, Danielle, for admitting to this addiction and giving your husband his due. We need to pay more attention to the people in front of us and perhaps set aside a specific time for emailing others.

I especially cringe when I see mothers & fathers pushing their children in strollers, or holding their hands, as they walk down the street & mom or dad is on a cell phone or a mobile email device.

These little people Need our attention.......they learn from us how to relate to people......don't be surprised when those children completely ignore their parents [more than kids can do]. Maybe we need another Harry Chapin song......

My husband has a serious addiction to his blackberry and a popular online computer game. I get a nod and sometimes a "hey" when he returns home from work but that's all. He goes straight to the computer to play his game and download things onto his blackberry. On a work day he will spend 4-6 hours a night doing this. On a day off he spends 14-16hrs.

I've asked him to take 1 hr a day to spend with the baby without the electronics...he refuses. He is "too busy". The few times I've convinced him to eat dinner with me at the table the blackberry was an uninvited and unwelcomed guest.

I feel rejected, hurt, angry, and alone. And, because he doesn't seem to think that his addictions are destroying our marrage, I plan to file for a divorce.

For those of you who suffer from this addiction I urge you to seek help before you destroy your relationships.

just recently ,last week they passed a law in Hawaii that if your caught talking, or texting, or even looking down with a cell phone in your hand while driving a car, truck,(any motor vehicle)you get a $69.00 ticket...i think its a great law...cell phone drivers are dangerous, if they dont concentrate on driving alone i had a few close calls because they were talking on their cell phone while driving, i shouted out a few choice words at them....i ask my passengers not to talk to me while im driving my Car, because i want to concentrate on driving and not be disturbed ,because its a big responsibility, you have peoples lives on your hands in your car, and in other cars...

Thank you for writing this article. My husband is addicted to his Blackberry, too, and it just makes me feel better to hear that there is a possible solution for this.

I am at wits end trying to help him to understand that this is not a healthy dedication to his work and that I am worried about him – mentally, physically, and emotionally. More than that, I am worried about us. He cannot focus on something else for 2 seconds without checking the darn thing – and this I know for a fact, as I was trying to get his opinion on a Keynote presentation transition I had put in, and I had to play it for him twice, and both times he missed it because he looked down at his Crackberry.

The length of the transition I wanted him to focus on? 2 seconds.

Sigh. I will just keep trying.