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Confessions From a BlackBerry Addict

Confessions From a BlackBerry Addict

I just realized that I’m sort of like a well-trained dog when it comes to my BlackBerry. I have my e-mail notification set on a special ba-ring sound. And I just realized that when my BlackBerry goes ba-ring from across the room – even from across my apartment sometimes – my ears perk up and I helplessly run to the sound.

Sometimes the e-mail is very worth running to – getting to hear from an old friend, hearing from one of you guys. But sometimes it’s from some Nigerian prince offering me ten million dollars if I just give him access to my bank account.

I should probably work on my CrackBerry habit, but the truth is I know that I’m actually in control. That’s because one day a week, I don’t hear my BlackBerry, I don’t see my BlackBerry and I don’t even think about my BlackBerry. I wasn’t raised shomer Shabbos (observing the Jewish Sabbath), and as a kid, when I used to think about those Orthodox Jews who had to “give up” so much to keep Shabbos I would feel so sorry for them – that they weren’t in control of their own lives. But now that I’m all grown up and I think about all the other CrackBerry addicts (and e-mail addicts, Facebook addicts, cell phone addicts…) out there who wouldn’t be able to unplug once a week for twenty-five hours, I wonder who’s actually in control.

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3 comments

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MBJ says on December 11, 2007
Ahhh…the beauty of Shabbos.
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Ariel Sokolovsky says on December 12, 2007
B”H
I get so much SPAM emails from “Nigerian princes” and the like that I eventualy decided to turn off BlackBerry email audio notification and just check it from time to time when I feel like it.
So far I haven’t missed any emergencies that I can remember probably because people who need some urgent help call on the phone.
PS. You produce great videos. What do you need to make of them on regular basis?
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Sara says on July 17, 2012
Ha ha ha CrackBerry!
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Allison Josephs

Allison Josephs is the founder and executive director of Jew in the City has been involved in the field of Jewish Outreach for over twenty years and is the Partner in Torah mentor to actress Mayim Bialik. She was named one of NJOP’s Top Ten Jewish Influencers and one of the Jewish Week’s 36 under 36. Allison has been quoted or written about in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, People Magazine, NYPost, Daily News, TMZ, The Daily Beast, and Hollywood Reporter. She has appeared on numerous television and radio networks including CBS, ABC, Fox5, TLC, Associate Press TV, and NPR; her articles have appeared in publications including The Washington Post, JTA, Jewish Week, Jerusalem Post, The Forward, and Kveller. Pearson Education, the largest textbook company in the world, produced a video segment on Allison’s life for the Judaism chapter of their textbook. She is a sought-after international lecturer whose corporate clients include Con-Edison and NYU Langone and hosts a weekly podcast on the Nachum Segal Network. She received her Bachelor of Arts from Columbia University in Philosophy and lives with her husband and four children minutes from the George Washington Bridge.