Please note: You are only invited to read this post, or comment on it, if you are addicted to your email and/or cell phone. Basically, if you can relate, you’re welcome to stick around. Thanks.

I’m obsessed with checking. I need to check my email and then my facebook. And then email and facebook again. And when those fail me, I may resort to twitter (*shudder*). And when all else fails? I will even check my work mail.

Yes, I get the urge to check my work email outside of work hours, even when I have no good reason to. It just gives me something to check!

I’m considering signing up to other services like MySpace, Buzz, Google+, Flickr and LinkedIn (oh, I am on LinkedIn) just so I’ll have more places to go to check. Check check check.

Oh dear Cell Phone. Art thou flashing?

(Of course, forget checking your actual, physical mailbox. What a lame excuse for a mode of communication.)

To try to help myself a bit, I recently removed myself from lists whose emails I never end up reading.

Why (besides the obvious)? Because just having my phone vibrate when they come in is extremely distracting. When this happens, of course, it means I check my inbox. I get the “Oh, maybe the best email from the best person just entered my inbox!” feeling followed by the disappointment of it being a random message. And then the number of unread messages in my inbox rises for no good reason and, at some point I need to deal with the damn thing. I need to do one or more of the following: open it/skim it/delete it… Such a waste of time!

Now, considering my addiction, it is difficult for me to part from my cell phone. But once in a blue moon (like this past Wednesday), I’ve forgotten my cell phone at home. Of course this is shocking in itself. But the worst is when you come home and you go straight to your cell phone to see what wonderful things happened while you were disconnected. Such anticipation! Such hope! And, lo and behold, nothing happened. Nothing at all. No flashing light. No “missed call” on the screen. Nothing. Your phone may as well have been off, for all anyone cares!

And my conclusion after such an experience? Why, I’d think it’s obvious!

I realize that people are totally unreliable. I am shocked by the fact that people don’t take responsibility for filling my inbox. It is at times like these that I see so clearly people’s self-centered ways as they don’t make sure my phone continues to vibrate and ding. And ring.

The fact they can’t take time out of their buuusy schedules to write me the cutest or nicest or most interesting message ever honestly just shows me the sad sad state of humanity today.

Post-publishing note: How could I forget dating sites?! They are a great source of checking potential. Who has looked at your profile? Who “likes” you? Who wrote you? It’s all so exciting! (And exhausting.)

Image by Wonderlane on Flickr.