Just How Far Does BlackBerry Addiction Go?

A Forbes magazine editor attempted to give up his BlackBerry for one week. He didn't last 48 hours. A spate of articles have called the wireless email device as addictive as hard drugs, going so far as to blame it for wrecked marriages and worse. When I switched jobs last summer I was without a BlackBerry for a month. I can tell you it was a tough 30 days.Is email that big a deal? Do we really need access to it 24/7, no matter where we are? Well, over 5 million BlackBerry users indicate that we do.

When I received my first BlackBerry, it revolutionized my workstyle. As a magazine editor, I relied on my corporate in-box for stories, contacts, updates, breaking news and more. Suddenly having access to that information when I was out of the office became a major boon to me. It helped me find and get stories up much sooner than before. It was especially helpful during trade shows or when I traveled and other times when finding a few moments to fire up the old laptop and connect was difficult. It wasn't long, though, before I was using it constantly.

I checked it first thing in the morning. (Yes, even before heading into the bathroom). I checked it before going to bed at night, because you know the most vital emails arrive at 11:30 pm. I checked it when I was taking my lunch break, over the weekends and even on vacation.

That 30-day respite last summer was a bit of an eye-opener and taught me a lot. With some self-directed tough love, I was able to slowly rev down how much I used the device to communicate. This article actually outlines a 5-step plan to help people beat their reliance on the device.

It wasn't easy.

Some governments have actually considered taking employers to task for fostering the addiction. Some employees have gone as far as to sue their employers.

Anyway you look at it, email is a vital business tool. For some it's more vital than for others. Finding a good balance between healthy and productive use versus addictive maniacal use, however, seems to be the real trick.