om have labeled our children “BlackBerry Orphans” and even asked the question “Is Your BlackBerry Ruining Your Sex Life?” I’ll admit responsibility for adding to somewhat useless, albeit amusing, blog fodder as the author of the latter. Still, I do confess that my research for that article delayed my own purchase of a BlackBerry for a few months. But now I’m BlackBerrying with the best of them, and if my child wants my attention, he can stop whining and text me.

As for the effect on my social life, I do find that with everyone’s impossibly busy schedules, PDA’s – Personal Digital Assistants – play a fa

Previously, if you asked me about the greatest innovation in thumbs, I would have given the textbook answer: “opposable thumbs allow us to grasp tools.” Or, I might have thought wistfully of the time when “thumbing it” wasn’t an invitation to meet serial killers. And perhaps I’d wonder what Siskel and Ebert would have done if not for their thumbs? Yet, while I admire those among us blessed with green thumbs, I never thought I’d see the day when being “all thumbs” is a compliment.

But, we are fast becoming a thumb-centric society. Thanks to cell phones, BlackBerry's and Gameboys, our children are now coming out of the womb grabbing the world by their thumbs. It’s no wonder that their first words are no longer “Mama” or “Dada”, but “Mario” and “DonkeyKong;” and that their first stuffed animals come with a userid, password, and an invitation to www.webkinz.com. “Toto, I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore. Now go get me some Webkinz money so I can visit the W shop.”

What effect is this having on the already wacky world we live in? Last year a London study found that Generation Y rings doorbells with their thumbs. I didn’t believe this as personally I’m partial to my index finger, and thought I should do my own research. I nixed my initial plan to follow some of my 20-something neighbors around. (I lived in the city at the time, where it’s practically a faux pas to walk down the street and not be on your BlackBerry or Blue Tooth.) But I was worried that I’d be labeled as the neighborhood creepy lady. Instead I surveyed a few of my young colleagues, by email of course. Their answer? “Ring doorbells? Why do that? Wouldn’t you just text them to say you’re out front?” Once again, the thumbs have it. (Note to self: Do not invest money in any company that manufactures doorbells.)

However, there is even more fallout from all this mind-numbing thumb-centricity. The newly-identified malady: “BlackBerry Thumb.” No, it’s not what Little Jack Horner got when he stuck his thumb in that pie. It’s actually tendonitis or aggravation of underlying arthritis by the repetitive motion required by BlackBerry use. Fortunately, if you live in NYC (where else?), they have spas that now offer specific therapies for BlackBerry Thumb, Cell Phone Acne and Tech Neck, the latest technology-related injuries.

Yet, sore thumbs aren’t the only BlackBerry backlash. Recent articles in the Wall Street Journal and on Forbes.com have labeled our children “BlackBerry Orphans” and even asked the question “Is Your BlackBerry Ruining Your Sex Life?” I’ll admit responsibility for adding to somewhat useless, albeit amusing, blog fodder as the author of the latter. Still, I do confess that my research for that article delayed my own purchase of a BlackBerry for a few months. But now I’m BlackBerrying with the best of them, and if my child wants my attention, he can stop whining and text me.

As for the effect on my social life, I do find that with everyone’s impossibly busy schedules, PDA’s – Personal Digital Assistants – play a far

oming out of the womb grabbing the world by their thumbs. It’s no wonder that their first words are no longer “Mama” or “Dada”, but “Mario” and “DonkeyKong;” and that their first stuffed animals come with a userid, password, and an invitation to www.webkinz.com. “Toto, I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore. Now go get me some Webkinz money so I can visit the W shop.”

What effect is this having on the already wacky world we live in? Last year a London study found that Generation Y rings doorbells with their thumbs. I didn’t believe this as personally I’m partial to my index finger, and thought I should do my own research. I nixed my initial plan to follow some of my 20-something neighbors around. (I lived in the city at the time, where it’s practically a faux pas to walk down the street and not be on your BlackBerry or Blue Tooth.) But I was worried that I’d be labeled as the neighborhood creepy lady. Instead I surveyed a few of my young colleagues, by email of course. Their answer? “Ring doorbells? Why do that? Wouldn’t you just text them to say you’re out front?” Once again, the thumbs have it. (Note to self: Do not invest money in any company that manufactures doorbells.)

However, there is even more fallout from all this mind-numbing thumb-centricity. The newly-identified malady: “BlackBerry Thumb.” No, it’s not what Little Jack Horner got when he stuck his thumb in that pie. It’s actually tendonitis or aggravation of underlying arthritis by the repetitive motion required by BlackBerry use. Fortunately, if you live in NYC (where else?), they have spas that now offer specific therapies for BlackBerry Thumb, Cell Phone Acne and Tech Neck, the latest technology-related injuries.

Yet, sore thumbs aren’t the only BlackBerry backlash. Recent articles in the Wall Street Journal and on Forbes.com have labeled our children “BlackBerry Orphans” and even asked the question “Is Your BlackBerry Ruining Your Sex Life?” I’ll admit responsibility for adding to somewhat useless, albeit amusing, blog fodder as the author of the latter. Still, I do confess that my research for that article delayed my own purchase of a BlackBerry for a few months. But now I’m BlackBerrying with the best of them, and if my child wants my attention, he can stop whining and text me.

As for the effect on my social life, I do find that with everyone’s impossibly busy schedules, PDA’s – Personal Digital Assistants – play a fa

d do my own research. I nixed my initial plan to follow some of my 20-something neighbors around. (I lived in the city at the time, where it’s practically a faux pas to walk down the street and not be on your BlackBerry or Blue Tooth.) But I was worried that I’d be labeled as the neighborhood creepy lady. Instead I surveyed a few of my young colleagues, by email of course. Their answer? “Ring doorbells? Why do that? Wouldn’t you just text them to say you’re out front?” Once again, the thumbs have it. (Note to self: Do not invest money in any company that manufactures doorbells.)

However, there is even more fallout from all this mind-numbing thumb-centricity. The newly-identified malady: “BlackBerry Thumb.” No, it’s not what Little Jack Horner got when he stuck his thumb in that pie. It’s actually tendonitis or aggravation of underlying arthritis by the repetitive motion required by BlackBerry use. Fortunately, if you live in NYC (where else?), they have spas that now offer specific therapies for BlackBerry Thumb, Cell Phone Acne and Tech Neck, the latest technology-related injuries.

Yet, sore thumbs aren’t the only BlackBerry backlash. Recent articles in the Wall Street Journal and on Forbes.com have labeled our children “BlackBerry Orphans” and even asked the question “Is Your BlackBerry Ruining Your Sex Life?” I’ll admit responsibility for adding to somewhat useless, albeit amusing, blog fodder as the author of the latter. Still, I do confess that my research for that article delayed my own purchase of a BlackBerry for a few months. But now I’m BlackBerrying with the best of them, and if my child wants my attention, he can stop whining and text me.

As for the effect on my social life, I do find that with everyone’s impossibly busy schedules, PDA’s – Personal Digital Assistants – play a fa

ven more fallout from all this mind-numbing thumb-centricity. The newly-identified malady: “BlackBerry Thumb.” No, it’s not what Little Jack Horner got when he stuck his thumb in that pie. It’s actually tendonitis or aggravation of underlying arthritis by the repetitive motion required by BlackBerry use. Fortunately, if you live in NYC (where else?), they have spas that now offer specific therapies for BlackBerry Thumb, Cell Phone Acne and Tech Neck, the latest technology-related injuries.

Yet, sore thumbs aren’t the only BlackBerry backlash. Recent articles in the Wall Street Journal and on Forbes.com have labeled our children “BlackBerry Orphans” and even asked the question “Is Your BlackBerry Ruining Your Sex Life?” I’ll admit responsibility for adding to somewhat useless, albeit amusing, blog fodder as the author of the latter. Still, I do confess that my research for that article delayed my own purchase of a BlackBerry for a few months. But now I’m BlackBerrying with the best of them, and if my child wants my attention, he can stop whining and text me.

As for the effect on my social life, I do find that with everyone’s impossibly busy schedules, PDA’s – Personal Digital Assistants – play a fa

om have labeled our children “BlackBerry Orphans” and even asked the question “Is Your BlackBerry Ruining Your Sex Life?” I’ll admit responsibility for adding to somewhat useless, albeit amusing, blog fodder as the author of the latter. Still, I do confess that my research for that article delayed my own purchase of a BlackBerry for a few months. But now I’m BlackBerrying with the best of them, and if my child wants my attention, he can stop whining and text me.

As for the effect on my social life, I do find that with everyone’s impossibly busy schedules, PDA’s – Personal Digital Assistants – play a far larger role in my life than PDA’s – Public Displays of Affection. So, really, how can my BlackBerry ruin what doesn’t exist in the first place? In the meantime, anyone want to thumbwrestle?