I would readily admit that I have an email habit, but I don’t know that I would personally use as strong of word for myself as addicted. I say this because even tho I do check my email often during the day when I’m away from it, such as a vacation, I seldom feel more then minor withdrawal pains.
However, I have no doubts that there are lots of people who are truly addicted as described by Tom Stafford at Mind Hacks:
Like lots of people who sit in front of a computer all day, I am addicted to email. This worries me for two reasons. The first is the sheer strength of my compulsion. I must hit the ‘get mail’ button at least a hundred times a day. Sometimes, if I don’t have any new mail, I hit it again immediately, just to check. I interrupt my work to check my mail even when I know that I’m not going to find anything interesting and that I should just concentrate on what I am supposed to be doing. When I come back to my office it’s the first thing I do. If I’m prevented from checking my mail for more than a few hours I get a little jumpy and remain that way until I have.
Mind Hacks: Why email is addictive (and what to do about it)
We can all get drawn into this technical instant connect world we live in.¬ So much so that it can make us feel personally disconnected when we are out of touch for any period of time.
technorati tags:email, addiction, compulsion