Sunday, September 19, 2010

Addiction is a sickness.


My name is Ethan Greenspan and I am a recovering Blackberry addict.  

I recently gave up BBM, and although I thought I was giving up my addiction to media with it; I couldn't have been more wrong.  Although my new iPhone did rescue me from knowing exactly when people read my messages, and from ridiculously fast BBM conversations; it has forced me into a new type of addiction.  

In it's usual stylish "Apple" manner, this phone's App Store has made me numb to 99-cent purchases.  With all this new found hard drive space, I often find myself rationalizing ways to fill my new fancy paperweight a dollar at a time.  
     Do I need an app that lets me see constellations at night? 
     No, but it's really fucking cool so I bought it.  

Recounting my purchases since I got this phone a month ago, I have spent about $20 on applications alone.  But if Apple didn't E-Mail me receipts every month, I would ignorantly go on purchasing apps as if $.99 purchases don't add up.  

So I'm going to keep tracking my fantasy team, looking up new drinks, and playing mind-numbing games until a new flashy piece of technology comes out.  And when I convince myself I need it, I may just spend another $20 filling it up with ridiculously useless application.

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2 comments:

  1. Ryan KOctober 1, 2010 at 2:05 PM

    This post is great. While I don't have an iPhone, it's amazing how people I know become so attached to it that they don't even keep track of how many Apps they purchase. Media seem to captivate us in this sense and, as you noted, numb us in a way. Just consider online purchases vs. transactions in a store. It's a lot different (easier & you feel it less) to click "Checkout" on Amazon than to count a wad of bills & give it to a cashier at a store.

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  2. xli8October 4, 2010 at 12:23 PM

    I like the self-reflexive, and slightly sarcastic style of you talking about yourself as an irreparable addict. I want to see, however, of more explicit analysis of why you become so addicted, whether it reflects a social trend, and whether you think this addiction is healthy. Personal experiences of the author become interesting to read--only when they are made to seem more or less universal, or more identifiable by the readers. Otherwise, you risk the critique of having too much self-indulgence, or ego-obssesions as a writer, etc.

    Straighten out the image display too please.

    c.d.e.

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