You, me, and Blackberry

I’ve strongly considering adding a place setting at the dinner table for Blackberries. I can’t remember the last time I sat down to a meal where my guests or myself didn’t regularly check our Blackberry’s. For some people it’s possible to go 15-30 mins without glancing, but for others it’s a shameless multi-minute compulsion. Nowadays there is a constant need to be in touch and although many of us recognize this pathetic behavior, it’s virtually impossible to stop it. Blackberry is the scapegoat for this post, but I'm referring to any Smartphone, PDA, or cell phone.

Many of us justify this behavior because “we have work e-mails that need to be read” but most of the time we’re all simply surveying what else is occurring. We’re rarely content in the here and now because we assume everyone else is doing something better. With these devices we've all become opportunists, totally disregarding the etiquette that once existed about when and when not to check the Blackberry. We’ve all succumbed to the fact that we rather know what is going on elsewhere than be stuck in present.

The only time I consciously ignore my inner urge to check the Blackberry is when I am on a good date, an important face-to-face meeting with a superior, or some kind of funeral etc… I’d normally be ashamed to admit this, but given my relatively objective observations, I’m one of the better ones. I have some friends that check their Blackberry’s like a nervous tick. If they moved their eyebrows as regularly as they check their phones we’d think they’re a tad off. It’s scary how extremely pathetic and juvenile the behavior is.

I’d like to think that one day when I have a wife and children, I’ll forbid the use of Blackberries at the dinner table, but it's totally idealistic. It's digital whispering! I can’t stand it and I can’t stop it.