News Regarding the Center
Tethered: It Don't Mean a Thing if You Ain't Got That Ping
New York Times, Week in Review
April 22, 2007
THE BlackBerry network went dark last week-- cache-flow problems, apparently. Service stopped for a mere 12 hours, but to bereft users, 12 minutes was too long. Information feeds our lives, they protested, and the BlackBerry provides it. What if we miss the e-mail message that makes or breaks our happiness, or our bank account?
That's always possible, of course. But what if what the users were missing was more primitive and insidious than uninterrupted access to information? Experts who study computer use say the stated yearning to stay abreast of things may mask more visceral and powerful needs, as many self-aware users themselves will attest. Seductive, nearly inescapable needs. Some theorize that constant use becomes ritualistic physical behavior, even addiction, the absorption of nervous energy, like chomping gum.
This behavior is then fueled by powerful social motivators. Interaction with a device delivering data gives a feeling of validation, inclusion and desirability. (It's no fun to be the only un-pinged person in the room.)
James E. Katz . . . said the data coming from the devices was really secondary. "Look at a lot of the communication ? it's idiotic in terms of substance," Mr. Katz said. "But it's vital in terms of meaning."
Mr. Katz argues that participation gives people a sense of belonging, one traceable to the atavistic desire to congregate and cooperate for safety and survival. In addition, he said, the constant checking is an exercise in optimism, like being an explorer or a gambler. Eternal hope delivered in tiny bits while you're on the go. "It's random reinforcement," Mr. Katz said. The fact that you don't know when important news will come, he said, "means you will quickly engage in obsessive compulsive behavior."
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