Many of my friends have Blackberry phones and sing its praises. My husband and I have been wanting one for a long time now, so when our phone contract ended, we finally made the splurge. My husband is on the road a lot for his job, so he wanted a way to easily access e-mail while on the go. I run around a lot being a reporter, so being able to e-mail from my phone is a nice addition. I can e-mail story updates, or let my producer know how a story is going, without stepping away to make a phone call.

Now, when we got the phones, I was sure that being able to do more from the palm of my hand, would save me time. Now that I actually have it, I’m not convinced. Now, I may just not have mastered what I can do on this phone…. (In fact, I remind myself of my parents with their phones… “How do I write this text? What if I want to…”) but there’s aspects of the blackberry that drive me nuts. I am constantly getting “notified” every time a new junk e-mail comes in, or about a posting on Facebook. I wouldn’t normally take the time to check my e-mail or Facebook as much as my phone likes to “notify” me, so I feel like it’s taking up more time than saving. I’m also not that impressed with how long it takes to connect to the internet or send a message.

Unfortunately, no matter how great an advancement in technology may seem, I feel like in the end, we serve it, rather than it serves us. Think about it… do you ever feel like a slave to your phone/computer? Or that your phone or television recorder (DVR) acts more as a leash than a connection to others? Every now and again, try turning everything off, take a deep breath, lay your head back and feel the freedom/relief that comes with being unconnected.