9. Crackberries with a Side of Rehab

I remember it precisely: driving up to Nantucket two summers ago and actually having to pull over on the side of the road so my dad could check his blackberry. I remember my frustration that not only were we wasting time, but I had to sit there in silence, no radio, no talking, no nothing while he checked his precious email that could not wait.

Today, it seems that every one of all ages is practically walking around with their blackberries attached to their fingertips. These devices combine the most addicting ingredients: the Internet and the phone, producing an unhealthy combination for the user. A study conducted by New Jersey's Rutgers University School says “the Blackberry is fuelling a rise in email and internet addiction, with sufferers able to survive only a few minutes without checking for new mail.” Although the blackberry was one praised as a way for the demanding businessmen to be able to check his email anytime and anywhere, Sinead McIntyre notes that it has come to the point where “blackberry email devices can be so addictive that owners may need to be weaned off them with treatment similar to that given to drug users, experts warned today.” The bottom line is that these “crackberries” are becoming a danger to our mental health.

The addiction of these blackberries lies in the addiction that stems from the Internet itself. To begin with, the Internet’s initial attraction is how it allows people to escape the reality of life and be whomever they want. However, it is more than just mere attraction, the addiction to the Internet comes from its specific properties including the idea of operant conditioning and the maintenance of virtual presence is why these people fasten their blackberries to their hands. These include synchronous chat, variable rewards and behaviors, as well as the desire to be constantly in touch. With the new uses for the Internet including dating, it is creating a dependency taking us away from our reality and into an alternate, hazardous one.

In some ways, Caplan’s model does relate to this addiction. Those individuals who do possess more psychosocial problems will prefer online communication and interaction because it is less threatening and, therefore, will ultimately take part in excessive compulsive online interaction. This continuous cycle can be applied to their addiction to blackberries where this less ominous environment can consume their lives, however, another important part of the addiction of these blackberries is because people become addicted to their work. Today, the consultant or professor is becoming the doctor, always on call, always connected in case of an “emergency.”

All I know is that when I went to visit my sister this weekend and see her cool new life in New York City, I noticed that this chic life did not come without a handy-dandy blackberry attached to her newly manicured fingers. Does growing up mean becoming an excessive, compulsive blackberry addict? And will there be “crackberry” rehab centers in our future?