# Blackberry Syndrome **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 9, 2010, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackberry-syndrome/535487 "2010-04-09T02:21:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2010, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackberry-syndrome/535487/21 "2010-04-09T15:40:28Z")
… . -.-- --…-- / … — – . / — …-. / …- … / … .- …- . / - — / … .- …- . / — …- .-. / – — -. . -.-- .-.-.- _Sent from e-sabbath’s Babbage Machine_ ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2010, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackberry-syndrome/535487/22 "2010-04-09T17:17:55Z")
01011001 01101111 01110101 00100111 01110010 01100101 00100000 01100001 01101100 01101100 00100000 01100001 00100000 01100010 01110101 01101110 01100011 01101000 00100000 01101111 01100110 00100000 01101100 01110101 01100100 01100100 01101001 01110100 01100101 01110011 00101110 * * * 01000100 01101001 01110010 01100101 01100011 01110100 00101101 01101100 01101111 01100001 01100100 01100101 01100100 00100000 01100010 01111001 00100000 01110010 01101111 01100010 01101111 01110100 00100000 01110010 01100101 01110000 01101100 01100001 01100011 01100101 01101101 01100101 01101110 01110100 00100000 01100010 01110010 01100001 01101001 01101110 00101110 ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2010, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackberry-syndrome/535487/23 "2010-04-09T17:22:34Z")
> [@Jinx](#): > > I am sick of this Blackberry Era! Everyone’s attention span is in the toilet! It’s like ADHD on steriods! I know, I know…my rant is already too long, right? 😉 And, how they cannot live 10 seconds without checking the dang toy! > > If only we could up the vibrate feature to electric shock! That’d cure 'em! I can get on board with this some. Have you seen teenagers walking around lately? Most of them are tripping along over their shoelaces as they stare into their electronic devices, texting away furiously. I can’t put my finger on exactly why I don’t like it…but I don’t. I feel like collectively we’re losing something. ---
**Author:** ![campp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@campp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/campp)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2010, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackberry-syndrome/535487/24 "2010-04-09T17:36:30Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > I feel like collectively we’re losing something. Yeah, like actual human interaction and conversations consisting of more than monosyllables. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2010, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackberry-syndrome/535487/25 "2010-04-09T17:38:10Z")
> [@Jinx](#): > > I pity today’s English teachers. Language used to be art form. Thomas Jefferson must be rolling over in his grave. You misspelled “Thomas Jefferson must, be rolling over, in his grave.” The man used waaaaay too many, commas. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2010, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackberry-syndrome/535487/26 "2010-04-09T18:13:54Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > I wrote… on youtube I figured out your mistake. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2010, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackberry-syndrome/535487/27 "2010-04-09T18:19:44Z")
Get off of my virtual lawn! ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2010, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackberry-syndrome/535487/28 "2010-04-09T18:24:32Z")
I may be wrong but I beleive there are still more blackberry users than iPhone users. Just sayin’. Now excuse my I have to post a picture I just took with my phone to my Facebook and then text all my friends about it while searching the internet for a new DVD that I am looking for at Best Buy. OH yeah, that reminds me, I need to figure out lunch so let me open up Google Maps and hopefully I can place my order through this app and mmm, my back itches and I think my black berry can ju-u-u-st about reach it. Sweeeet. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2010, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackberry-syndrome/535487/29 "2010-04-09T18:26:39Z")
> [@shot from guns](#): > > 01011001 01101111 01110101 00100111 01110010 01100101 00100000 01100001 01101100 01101100 00100000 01100001 00100000 01100010 01110101 01101110 01100011 01101000 00100000 01101111 01100110 00100000 01101100 01110101 01100100 01100100 01101001 01110100 01100101 01110011 00101110 > > * * * > > 01000100 01101001 01110010 01100101 01100011 01110100 00101101 01101100 01101111 01100001 01100100 01100101 01100100 00100000 01100010 01111001 00100000 01110010 01101111 01100010 01101111 01110100 00100000 01110010 01100101 01110000 01101100 01100001 01100011 01100101 01101101 01100101 01101110 01110100 00100000 01100010 01110010 01100001 01101001 01101110 00101110 01010100 01101000 01101001 01110011 00101110 ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2010, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackberry-syndrome/535487/30 "2010-04-09T19:01:47Z")
> [@Tom\_Scud](#): > > You misspelled “Thomas Jefferson must, be rolling over, in his grave.” > > The man used waaaaay too many, commas. Many noted historians[_who?_] have called him the “Christopher Walken of the 18th Century.”[_citation needed_] ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2010, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackberry-syndrome/535487/31 "2010-04-09T19:33:51Z")
> [@](#): > > I am sick of this Blackberry Era! Everyone’s attention span is in the toilet! It’s like ADHD on steriods! I know, I know…my rant is already too long, right? And, how they cannot live 10 seconds without checking the dang toy! Dude, it’s not a toy at all, it’s a… _buzz buzz_ …Um…where was I? Oh, yeah. The Blackberry. As I was saying… _buzz buzz_ … … _buzz buzz_…_buzz buzz_ … Er, sorry. What was the thread about again? -XT * * * _Sent from my Blackberry to my secretary, who then posted this from her Android_ ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2010, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackberry-syndrome/535487/32 "2010-04-09T19:39:36Z")
> [@Jinx](#): > > I am sick of this Blackberry Era! Everyone’s attention span is in the toilet! It’s like ADHD on steriods! I know, I know…my rant is already too long, right? 😉 And, how they cannot live 10 seconds without checking the dang toy! > > If only we could up the vibrate feature to electric shock! That’d cure 'em! If you wanted to get a BlackBerry, you could just go to the store. No need to try and draw the attention of the Cellular Gods. ---
**Author:** ![miss\_elizabeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/838e76/32.png) [@miss\_elizabeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/miss_elizabeth)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2010, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackberry-syndrome/535487/33 "2010-04-09T19:58:39Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > I can get on board with this some. Have you seen teenagers walking around lately? Most of them are tripping along over their shoelaces as they stare into their electronic devices, texting away furiously. **I can’t put my finger on exactly why I don’t like it…but I don’t.** I feel like collectively we’re losing something. Typical old person talk. :rolleyes: The only thing being lost is your youth. Get over it. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2010, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackberry-syndrome/535487/34 "2010-04-09T20:24:40Z")
Just this morning some girl began texting while she was crossing a wide Manhattan street in the crosswalk. She slows down and stops paying attention to where she is walking, annoying myself and the other pedestrians in the crowded crosswalk. I sped up, moved directly in front of her, then slowed down myself. Of course she walked right into me since she wasn’t watching where she was going which gave me the opportunity to let her know how I felt about her multi-tasking abilities. I must admit I am constantly annoyed by people that text while driving, I’m on the highway and suddenly the car in front of me slows down by about 10-15 MPH and starts swerving. when I go to pass them I look back and they are ALWAYS texting. This happens all the freakin’ time and while I am always tempted to get in front of them then slow down and let them rear-end me, I have never done so because of the possibility of causing or receiving a serious injury. Being able to pull off a safe, slow speed “on-foot” version of this made my day, although I was probably a little harsh to the girl. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2010, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackberry-syndrome/535487/35 "2010-04-09T21:57:02Z")
> [@miss\_elizabeth](#): > > Typical old person talk. :rolleyes: > > The only thing being lost is your youth. Get over it. > 😛 Not really. I just turned 40, its the new 30. I have a nice touchscreen phone. I text some. I have to, I have a 16 year old stepdaughter! It doesn’t mean I have to like it or that it isn’t supplanting face to face human interaction, or dumbing down the English language or causing traffic accidents or people to be too easily distracted. It is what it is. ---
**Author:** ![thirdwarning](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecccb3/32.png) [@thirdwarning](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thirdwarning)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2010, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackberry-syndrome/535487/36 "2010-04-09T22:12:43Z")
> [@Ann\_Hedonia](#): > > Just this morning some girl began texting while she was crossing a wide Manhattan street in the crosswalk. She slows down and stops paying attention to where she is walking, annoying myself and the other pedestrians in the crowded crosswalk. I sped up, moved directly in front of her, then slowed down myself. Of course she walked right into me since she wasn’t watching where she was going which gave me the opportunity to let her know how I felt about her multi-tasking abilities. Maybe you should have walked up behind her and just pushed. She would have sped up and gotten across sooner, and it might have been fun to see if she even noticed. ---
**Author:** ![ToeJam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dfb087/32.png) [@ToeJam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ToeJam)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2010, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackberry-syndrome/535487/37 "2010-04-10T05:11:28Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > I feel like collectively we’re losing something. Is it the unconscious? Though maybe in a few centuries that which was Twitter will take over that, and maybe it’ll be a new Wachowski Neo-Jungian philosophy- the Collective Access: all the tweets of the past containing the vestigial tracings human knowledge all in small 140 characters or less phrases… 🆒Whoa ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2010, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackberry-syndrome/535487/38 "2010-04-10T05:29:38Z")
[QUOTE=FoieGrasIsEvil] It doesn’t mean I have to like it or that it isn’t supplanting face to face human interaction, or dumbing down the English language or causing traffic accidents or people to be too easily distracted [/QUOTE] If I can be semi-serious for a moment, the thing is, this technology is still in it’s infancy, and it’s still changing and evolving. Like all technology that changes our culture, it’s going to take some adaptation, and it’s going to cause us to lose as well as gain. I think the gains will, in the long run, surpass the losses. One thing that I think is coming soon to a phone near you is going to be a more widespread implementation of talk to text technology. You can get this now, of course, but I think that fairly soon you’ll see people sub-vocalizing their ‘text’ message to each other instead of feverishly typing away on their phones. I remember when I first saw this demonstrated a couple of years ago and saying to other people at the conference ‘why would you talk to text instead of just, you know, calling the person on the phone and, well, talking to them?’. I was making a joke, but it was also a serious question. We did some heavy drinking that night, but the gist of the conversation is that, for some reason, there is a niche in people for rapid communications that don’t involve all the social graces and setting up that an actual phone call in real time provides…i.e. people want to communicate at one removed and without all the preamble a real conversation entails, at least some of the time. That’s why texting is so popular, of course. Hell, I actually have 3 phones that I carry with me at all times, and I’m constantly getting texts on all of them (though mostly on my personal phone and the companies phone…the other phone is for one of the client sites I manage). If I’m in a meeting or if I’m not at a place where calling is easy (or, if I simply don’t want to talk to someone, but I really want to communicate with them), then texting fills that niche. But from what I’ve seen, the new technologies that are coming soon will be able allowing for diverse communications options, as well as be more visually oriented for selecting all the things we use our phones for. Plus, the new wall projectors are going to be pretty fun to use. And, I’ll let you in on a few of the more proprietary secrets I’ve been hearing lately, some of which are truly astounding and will blow your mind… _buzz buzz_ …hold on a sec, I need to take this message, it’s from my facebook page… _buzz buzz_…_buzz buzz_ Sheesh, 5 messages from the Straightdope for threads I’ve replied in. Anywhere, where was I…? _buzz buzz_…_buzz buzz_ _buzz buzz_…_buzz buzz_ _BUUUUZZZZZZ!_ Hm…well, the hot tub is open and there is a case of Guinness cooling on ice blow, so I’ll leave you at that… -XT ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2010, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackberry-syndrome/535487/39 "2010-04-10T12:06:09Z")
> [@xtisme](#): > > or, if I simply don’t want to talk to someone, but I really want to communicate with them This is what I find so…weird. ---
**Author:** ![Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aji_de_gallina/32/260_2.png) [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aji_de_Gallina)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2010, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackberry-syndrome/535487/40 "2010-04-10T12:40:58Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > I can get on board with this some. Have you seen teenagers walking around lately? Most of them are tripping along over their shoelaces as they stare into their electronic devices, texting away furiously. I can’t put my finger on exactly why I don’t like it…but I don’t. I feel like collectively we’re losing something. It’s worse. I went to my students’ junior prom and I’d say that 1/4 of them were actually holding/using their cellphhones while dancing; texting/yalking/chatting in the fucking prom. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackberry-syndrome/535487.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackberry-syndrome/535487.md?page=3)