Beware! Your BB could drive you “berry” crazy (health Hazard)

Following the outage of services across the world on the BlackBerry social and internet network, this week has gone down in history as one of the most traumatic for business and social users of the famous smartphone device. For days, more than 15 million BlackBerry owners were unable to connect or stay connected on their BlackBerrys, BBs, for short.
For once, the pleasure-giving pocket electronic gadget caused much pain. Ordinarily, Blackberries bring about more than just headaches— they can have real, measurable effects on mental health evendrive you crazy.



Anxiety

The Blackberry is a revolutionary device. It’s a pocket-size gadget that fulfills all communication needs. But when this same device causes addiction, increases distraction and deprives you of sleep, youcan be sure that the BB will drive you crazy with stress __ especiallyif you rely on it for your work.

Findings by researchers at MIT’s Sloan School of Management revealedthat Blackberry use has a large impact on the workplace landscape,affecting expectations of work deadlines, employee availability and notions of free time. The problem, it was revealed, appears to startat the top.

When senior employees establish a pattern of constant communication, it quickly becomes the norm. What it all boils down to is a culture of stress in the workplace, all revolving around the Black berry.

Black berry devices can be so addictive that owners may need to be weaned off them with treatments similar to those used for addicted drug users. With the ability to stay connected 24/7, Black berries and similar devices are fueling a rise in internet and e-mail addiction with devastating results to mental health.

What exactly makes Black berry so addictive is one of the most addictive gambling machines of all time— the slot machine. Slot machines rely on what a famed psychologist called “intermittent reinforcement.” It works like this: When we play slots, the reward that we seek (i.e., money) is given out only occasionally and inconsistently.

Because rewards are given out at such infrequent intervals, we continue to pull the lever waiting for that little jolt of excitement that comes when we finally hit a winner.

Just like with playing slot machines, intermittent reinforcement may be what keeps you reaching for your BB, in hopes that the next random e-mail or text message reveals something exciting.

Insomnia It’s no secret that a lack of quality sleep can have negative impact on mental health. Everyone has experienced those testy mornings where even the slightest irritant can send you screaming — but getting a good sleep isn’t exactly easy, and ability to get some shut-eye can become complicated by having a BB.

Research convincingly shows that texting or chatting on a cell phone before bedtime disrupts sleep patterns, leading to issues of insomnia,headaches and difficulties concentrating.

From brain tumours to insomnia, cell phone radiation is being increasingly scrutinized for its potential impacts on human health.

With more and more studies pointing toward an increased risk of brain tumours among cell phone users, the mounting paranoia of the public is enough to drive anyone crazy.

With Blackberries becoming more and more commonplace within the workplace and life in general, the solution is one of moderation. If you can, have your workplace clearly communicate expectations around Black berry use.

Eliminate Black berry use from meetings or establish regular Black berry breaks. When at home, try to avoid checking every time your Black berry beckons. When in doubt, simply turn the device off.