I’m Steven P, and I’m a gadget addict.

One of my favorite organization blogs, Unclutterer, just splashed a bit of cold water on my face:

A gadget addict may have a problem if they constantly drool over the next best thing, but most of us can control our consumer frenzy and be happy with our two-year-old cell phones that doesn’t have internet access. When your time becomes cluttered with gadget envy and the continuous pursuit of the end-all of gadgetry, then you may want to think of why you pursue them so aggressively.

Ouch! It’s tough when a blog post seems to know you better than you know yourself. I can’t help that I like the fanciest new technology — for me, well-designed gadgets are a way to improve life, and for the most part I don’t regret the buying choices I make.

As many of you know from one of my other recent posts, I’ve decided to hold off on buying the coveted iPhone because it doesn’t meet my standards for what an iPod and a mobile phone should do. I’m not sure that this exempts me from the classification of “gadget addict” but I try to appreciate small victories where I can find them.

I suppose that you could argue that my time is “cluttered with gadget envy” due to the 100+ blog posts I read at Engadget and Gizmodo on a daily basis, but I like to think that it’s harmless fun. After all, an addiction doesn’t really become a problem until you stop eating in order to feed it, right?

Even so, this is clearly a sensitive topic. Just read the comments in response to this Unclutterer post for proof:

This criticism of the iPhone in a blog on clutter seems misplaced to me. I would understand recommending against buying lots of high-tech junk that you don’t use very much and which just sits around taking up space. But I don’t understand calling an item which I will use productively every day, and which makes it possible for me to travel without lugging my laptop along with me “clutterâ€. There are so many more deserving items of your scorn.

Again, ouch. I think that the article is merely responding to the extreme amount of hype surrounding the iPhone’s release, and questioning why owning the next fancy gadget is such an indicator of social status for some people. Perhaps the defensiveness in response to the article stems from the possibility that people who read Unclutterer are deeply conflicted about their state of disorganization. I, for one, know that I am.

Russian news site Pravda.ru examines the problem of gadget addiction from a medical and psychological perspective in an article from 2004:

Gadget-addicted people have a bouquet of psychological symptoms, such as: euphoria and ecstasy from buying a new gadget, inability to stay away from appliances for long, the feeling of emptiness and depression that develops when a person does not purchase gadgets on a regular basis, disregard for family members and friends. Gadget mania can be harmful to health too: addicts suffer from dryness in the eyes, headaches and sleeping disorder.

Maybe I’m going about this all wrong. It’s clearly time for me to enroll in a 12-step program. I wonder if there’s a web-based version, or an audio-book version for my iPod!

Unclutterer: Gadgetry clutter
New modern phenomenon of gadget addiction ruins families - Pravda.Ru

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