BlackBerry-style technology exacerbates the modern habit of multitasking, said JoAnne Yates, a professor of communication and organizational studies at the Sloan School of Management at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who is studying the effect of BlackBerry use on society. "That is scary, because we're getting too used to not paying attention to one thing at a time, but splitting it on many things."
The BlackBerry also has tethered some people closer to work. "While people keep talking about wireless as liberating, in fact there's the other side, which is that we're drawn in to being accountable wherever we are and always answering," said Sherry Turkle, director of the MIT initiative on technology and self. "You never know when you're not working. You're losing time to quietly reflect."
People write e-mail anywhere with Blackberrys.
(Justin Sullivan -- AP)
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Since getting a BlackBerry, Jonathan Adkins started sending his boss, Harsha, late-night e-mails.
"I take it with me to the gym. I keep it on my belt, even while I'm working with a trainer," said Adkins, communications director at the Governors Highway Safety Association. "In this country we don't have that much downtime. It's probably not good for our mental health to do business at 10 o'clock at night, but it takes a lot of willpower not to, especially as everyone else does it."
Harkins Cunningham LLP handed out BlackBerrys to its lawyers this year, but not before extensive internal debate. David A. Bono, a partner at the firm's District offices, said one senior partner feared that lawyers would be distracted by their BlackBerrys in meetings and thus would make mistakes. But the competitive urge to be available at all times won out.
Now, Bono said, his BlackBerry finds its way onto the dinner table in a restaurant, where he sneaks a peek at it when it flashes. "I just roll the wheel," he said, referring to the scrolling mechanism on the side that allows him to see who has sent a message. "I try to be very discreet about it and not look at it very much."
Some say they find it calming to keep continuous tabs on the office.
"It's the perfect productivity tool for anxious professionals," Wilhelm said. Then he wondered out loud: "Does the BlackBerry make someone more neurotic, or does a neurotic person find that the BlackBerry comforts them?"
