Are You A Mobil’oholic?
Now that Internet’oholism is on the road to become a more frequent word because of the recent characterization of internet addiction as official mental illness (remind me to dwell on the decadence of our society later), I was thinking about the existence or not of an “addiction” to our mobiles. To tell you the truth, I have never been a fan of classifying something as an addiction or not as I have always believed that anything can be overcome by the human mind, once it’s set it as a goal. I would prefer using the word “need” instead.
I was thinking about this topic when I cam across a post about mobile addiction with an experiment conducted with Forbes’ editor denying him access to his Blackberry, his email and his cellphone calls. Although I tend to believe that there was some acting and a good use of onion involved, I am concerned by the issue raised by this experience.
Almost every single person I know has a mobile handset and if they lose it for a second, it’s as if the whole world crumbled, or as if they had industries and companies relying solely on them. Is it a so-called addiction? I don’t think so, it’s more the urge to feel needed and essential. Personally, I have never tried going mobile-free for a long time because it’s not very plausible when you blog about the thing. But when I think about my daily mobile usage, I always come to the conclusion that it’s not essential in my life, although it makes a certain number of operations a lot easier.
So what do you think of your mobile usage, are you a mobil’oholic? Could you give up your device and for how much time?
my parents and friends have been calling me tat for almost a year…it all started when i got my 6630.
and being a Mobil’oholic i cant go a day without my n95 now.
When I have my phone, I’m addicted. I find myself pulling it out for no good reason in public if I get uncomfortable about anything, and that screams addiction to me.
On the other hand, if my phone were being repaired or there were some other unforseen circumstance that required me to use one of the old Nokia bricks for a while, I’d survive. It would be inconvenient not to have all the technology provided by the N95 in my pocket, but it wouldn’t be the end of the world.
I’m addicted. I need my N95 with me at all times. Come on, how can we live without a device with which you can take pics, take videos, surf the web, listen to music, watch videos, work on a spreadsheet, navigate thru traffic, listen to radio, track your workout progress, play games and hundreds of other things? Not that I pull it out for nothing, but having it in my pocket makes me feel good.
Not only I’m addicted to my phone I’m addicted to buying more phones. And lets admit it, if you’re reading this blog you’re probably addicted as well. I noticed when in the space of one year I spent over USD 1,700 in 3 phones (ok, I’ve sold 2 of them on ebay, getting over a grand in the process). We’re always searching for better phones, more convergency, more features. It’s fun and it never stops.
I am not sure if I am a full on mobileholic. While I do normally have a phone with me and often can be spotted reading from my internet tablet instead of a book, I do feel that I could go cold turkey without my mobiles. I used to have a bad habit of bringing my mobiles into the bedroom and reading at night. After some remarks by my wife, I realized I should probably institute a self-imposed, no mobiles in the bedroom rule. It worked and we only bring a mobile in the bedroom when we are expecting a call.
Ok, after reviewing what I just wrote, I guess I am addicted, but have learned to manage it. It probably does not help that I work for a mobile network carrier…
I can’t go anywhere wihout my stuff. I always have my N810 with my N95 music controller and headphones in my left pocket. In my right pocket i have another pair of headphones (”in-ear”, that blocks out noise), a little puch with 2 N95 extra batteries, a female-female USB connector and a “micro to normal” retractable usb cable (for host mode with N810), Microsd to SD adapter, a small cloth for wiping off fingerprints from my stuff and, the stranges of it all, 3-4 paper-clips (Works exelent as stands for my N95). I also have my N95 and my 80gb iPod classic with FM/remote cable in the right pocket.
Comes up to around 1,3Kg including my Trousers (no, it’s not too heavy)
I just feel naked without my stuff… So yes, call me an addict:P
“Theres a thing in my pocket, but it’s not one thing, it’s way too many”
Dan, I totally agree with you, you’ve described the way I feel about my N95
TrulsT, you should seek some help, lol, that’s way too much stuff to carry around! I mean I feel like I’m carrying a load when I take my N95-1 charger and my headphones!
Can’t help noticing 3 of you wrote “i am addicted”, it’s always a good way to start, noticing the problem :p but then again, it’s not much of a problem, is it?
Give up my device!!!!! Are you nuts!!!!???? Lol, guess I just answered your question huh.
Hahaha. I can imagine myself in a room full of people in a circle. I identify myself saying: “Hi, I’m Dan and I’m addicted to cell phones”.