The Blackberry Un-social Syndrome

Just like that, I figured, I had been using my Blackberry device for well over three years now. Needless to say, this employer-sponsored aversion has been by-and-large a blessing for me for sure when it comes to all matters business-related. The e-mail and texting prowess of this machine seem unmatched, and the promptness with which this thing helps you respond to people (even to the ones you wanted to avoid!) gives true meaning to the adage "time is of the essence". What is pretty amazing to me is that the Blackberry addressbook feature is simply a front-end interface to a comprehensive remote database that sits on a secure server, so the data querying capability of this device seems essentially unlimited. You never seem not to have the contact information for the person you are looking to get a hold of. This device carries so many of my resources that these days I often refer it to as my "brain extension". The unit can be locked with a password, and you lose your Blackberry, you really lost nothing, just simply have to get a replacement unit.

But of late, I noticed my obvious "addiction" to this creature as well. After all it is a "smartphone" that does everything that a traditional phone was and was not supposed to do, and more. My 3G model supports a very reliable internet browser, and a handful of other useful applications - including maps, music, camera, camcorder, addressbook, calendar, facebook, and other proprietary stuff. I even downloaded a "text to speech" application that simply verbally reads out loud e-mails to you when you are on the road driving behind a wheel.  With so much slick power at your fingertips, it is only but natural that I cultivated a level of indulgence with this machine that I started suspecting if I was actually becoming un-social. The other day entering a restraurant, I was so immersed reading something on the device, that I did not open/yield the door to the elderly lady that was walking out from inside. Thankfully she understood and smiled me away, and I even pointed the finger at my blackberry and asked her to actually excuse the thing, not me. On a more recent occassion, I was caught indulging with the device at the Super-bowl party last weekend at a friend's place and leaving my hosts wondering if I was actually "on call" on some work-related matter. Somewhat embarrassed, I had to explain that this latest quirk of mine was more of a habit than anything else. I even helplessly cited that even Obama has the blackberry weakness that I do.

The larger point here is that digital indulgence seems to be a thing that is here to stay for most of us. If it is not a Blackberry, it is perhaps a laptop, or a cell phone, or an i-pod, or a big-screen TV, for most of us. Stats are coming out showing people spending more time with machines than with one and another. Whether one likes it or not, society's trend clearly seems to be headed in the "man+machine" direction when it comes to inter-personal interaction. It is no longer a question of whether one human being is better than another, it is fast-becoming a question of "are me and my machine better than you and your machine?" Hoping it all somehow stays good, we will wait and see what all our digital future has in store for us...