BlackBerry Nose

As a child, having your "nose buried in a book" was considered a sign of intelligence. Today, adult noses are more likely to be embedded in a BlackBerry. And that may signal the opposite.

There have been several examples lately as to when adherence to an always-connected ethic can have severe consequences. Not business, but physical. I call it BlackBerry Nose. The result is similar to that of when a dog succeeds in chasing a parked car.

You've witnessed it in hallways and on freeways. And so, lately, has the press:

Kevin Maney of USA Today, in his observations about last week's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, commented off-handedly about a "relatively new hazard at CES: the BlackBerry collision. This happens with frightening regularity as convention goers attempt to walk around while doing e-mail on their handheld gadgets."

A month ago in Seattle, a man caused a chain-reaction accident on Interstate 5 by reading email on his BlackBerry while driving, involving four cars and a bus carrying 28 people (fortunately, no one was seriously hurt). But it led the Seattle Post-Intelligencer to opine there should be a legal remedy to get people to "put down the phone or PDA and drive."

When I was in school, I used to think I could walk and read a novel at the same time. This worked fine until I got so absorbed that I walked into a pillar.

Similarly, I have to force myself to put my BlackBerry where I can't easily see the screen when I drive -- otherwise, what might start as a casual glance may evolve into a need to respond to an email or text message immediately, leaving the driving to my knees (don't ask). Now I limit myself to inappropriate BlackBerry behavior when I'm stationary.

Researchers at the University of London revealed last year that distractions from email and text messages led to an effective ten-point IQ drop. That's more than twice the IQ impact of smoking pot. And there seems little controversy over whether smoking pot affects a person's ability to drive or walk.

There's no doubt that otherwise intelligent people find themselves suffering from BlackBerry Nose. There's also no problem in being this absorbed ... so long as you're not in a position to hurt others by your lack of attention.

If you want your nose buried in something, just make sure it's not six feet of dirt.