Thursday, January 12, 2012

Why I'm scared of the BlackBerry

My phone fell twice in the toilet last year so it's been dying on me. I've been asking people on Facebook what phone to get for months now. I always get very passionate answers on why I should get the phone they think I should get. I noticed that people in the creative fields (arts, publishing, etc) said, "iPhone!" and the rest of the world said, "BlackBerry!" Since I'm a magazine editor and a writer, the answer is obvious but I still hemmed and hawed.

Before I could decide on it, my office decided for me and gave me a BlackBerry. I think it was ready for pick up by November. But I only remembered to claim it last week. That's almost 2 months of forgetting I have a new phone. And now it's been an entire week since I got the phone. Finally, the Third World Nerd took it out of the box and charged the battery a few hours ago. I still haven't touched it.

It's not that I'm tech-challenged. Part of the reason is I'm really not a phone person. I have two phones--for my Globe (personal line that I've had since 2003) and for my Sun (free from my work). People who know me or work with me get exasperated with me because I seldom answer phone calls, I rarely reply to text messages and I always misplace my phones. For the entire month of November, I forgot to charge my Globe phone. Then I forgot where I kept it for the whole of December until Vince found it under a pile of papers last week.

My phones are almost always on silent so when I misplace them (which is often because my toddler plays with them!), I never could find the damn things. And I never feel the need to look for my phones when they're missing. And when they run out of battery power, I forget to charge them. On weekdays, I almost always ignore my phone after 6pm. On weekends, my phones are forgotten.

But now I have a new BlackBerry. And I am not excited to use it because everyone tells me, "You'll LOVE it! You'll be so ADDICTED to it! You CAN'T LIVE without it!" That enthusiasm makes me very apprehensive. And now I'll confess why.

Late last year, I became addicted to Twitter and Facebook. To my horror, I found that I spend 2-3 hours just refreshing for updates, replying, commenting, sharing, RTing. That's 2-3 hours every single day. That's 2-3 hours a day that I could've spent reading a book, reading the magazines (a year's subscription to Vanity Fair, Glamour and Allure!) my husband bought for me as a birthday gift, writing, blogging, cooking healthy meals, putting on lotion, deep conditioning my hair, doing my own mani-pedi, seeing friends, sleeping. Sleeping! I could use those extra 2-3 hours of sleep every day dammit! But no. I spend those precious hours on the social networks.


It would've been okay if I earned money from all the Tweeting and Facebooking. But I don't. If you noticed, I don't blog that often anymore. Blame my addiction to social networking. Blogging makes me money and I've neglected it just because I'm stalking people (really, that's what social networks are for). I have to stop. Obviously. I'm not disciplined enough and it's controlling my life.

So just as I resolved to wean myself from Tweets and FB updates, the BlackBerry arrives and everyone says I can now Tweet, update my FB, check my email anywhere and everywhere. "Isn't that so great?!" they trill. That's like giving a recovering alcoholic a free pass to a fully stocked bar.

I'm in trouble.

12 comments:

  1. I find my iPhone very useful during bus/train rides. Half of commuting time became bearable since I can surf the Internet. The only problem I encounter is minsan lumalagpas na ako sa stop ko.

    Another downside is people tend to pay more attention to the gadget when they are out with their family/friends.
    Sayang ang gimik/bonding kung nagiging close lang sa gadget.

    ReplyDelete
  2. That is the same reason why I hold off on twitter. Also, I was on an event where everyone on the bar was busy texting instead of talking to each other. Gosh, it is a sign of age. :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. I've had the same problem with social NOTworking sites before. I'd like to believe that I've been pretty good at managing it now. Hehehe!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Haha, if you had asked me I would've said an Android phone.

    Seriously, after I manually fixed painstakingly transferred all my contacts to Google Contacts (a one time mega effort) it's been very convenient because I can sync pretty much my whole online life (I use blogger and Gmail) on any Android device (and yes that includes FB and Twitter). If you choose to "save to Google" from the start instead of your phonebook you won't even need to go through what I did.

    I'm very dependent on the whole Google hierarchy of products so I can't tear myself away from the Android OS. :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. I am now using BB thru this comment.. You'll love it, most especially BB social.. Come on, use it na.. The downside of it, I could not text anymore without looking (not anymore during meetings most specially.. Hehe)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Rowena, I'm a Google products girl, too, and will do that. When I find the time! =)

    ReplyDelete
  7. i never had a twitter account, my phone is turning 5 next month; it doesn't even have a camera.

    summer last year i quit facebook because i knew too, too much about random people who didn't even know i existed! the first few weeks i couldn't stop wondering what was happening to everyone, especially since i was online for more than 12 hours a day, and fb was just a couple of clicks away. but i don't think i'll ever go back. haha.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Ticklememama and MichDom, my sentiments exactly!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Sweet, may I be as strong as you! Ayoko na talaga ma-addict sa Twitter at FB! Hindi na siya tama!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Rhia, I started using the BB today and I am very proud to report that I did NOT use it for social networking! And I still did NOT pay any attention to it.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Yuuna, sigh, I wish every day I can delete my FB and Twitter accounts but both are really helpful in promoting my blogs and my magazine.

    I'll just have to learn how to manage my time and stop myself from refreshing and commenting on everyone's updates!

    ReplyDelete
  12. i know what you mean, but yeah, i guess one needs to be disciplined when using the BB for social networking. i only use it when i'm commuting to make the traffic bearable. or when i feel like i need to break away from the monotony of my work. at home, i only allocate half an hour max to check my social network accounts. time management is key :)

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for dropping by my blog! It really means a lot that you spare the time to read... and comment!