Arkansas Business Publisher Addicted to Technology (Guest commentary by Jeff Hankins)

My obsessions with technology and gadgets are well-documented, and some of the behavior is borderline addiction.

After Josh Quittner, consumer technology editor-at-large for Time magazine, described his job to me recently, I was downright jealous.

He gets to be among the first people to try out new consumer technology and writes about the products — and he receives a paycheck for doing it.

That’s what I call a dream job.

Now here’s a confession: I’m beginning to wonder how much technology I really need before it creates more work, stress and inefficiency in my life.

The whole point of consumer technology is to make life and work easier, more efficient and, of course, fun.

The overwhelming number of options is making my obsession quite daunting.

My wife and parents are convinced that I’m addicted to my Apple iPhone. We’ve all heard of BlackBerry or “Crackberry” addictions, too.

As consumers, we have the thirst for the instant information these mobile devices deliver — that’s certainly good news for the future of Arkansas Business Publishing Group as a local content provider. We feel like we’re expected to be accessible in a timely manner by voice or text messaging or e-mail, and we expect the same of others.

Can we risk missing out on important information or being out of touch for more than an hour?

But many of us are starting to feel too connected and too accessible.

Where is the down time, especially since we can’t possibly leave our “cell phone” behind on vacations or days off?

The overload of e-mails is overwhelming, and the situation grows worse with every few hours that you don’t check e-mail.

If you don’t respond within a few hours, you’re getting phone calls or another e-mail saying “Did you get my e-mail?”

Today’s definition of entitlement is being able to reach everyone instantly.

Apple Inc.’s Steve Jobs has delivered one revolutionary idea after another through the years, changing the way we use our computers and buy and listen to music. Perhaps he and others have given us too many technology options and too many tech decisions to make.

Who has time to research all the stuff, let alone learn how to use everything?

Apple’s new applications store for the iPhone is a good example. Hundreds of mobile software options enable you to get college football scores, calculate tips, measure calories and get directions to a location.

Some are really helpful and useful, while most are applications we can all live without.

We have to filter the tech noise out there.

It’s like deciding which bells and whistles to invest in for your company’s Web site.

Will the addition of blogs, podcasts, video and other functionality really drive more sales and enhance the user’s experience, or do you just like to say you have those features?

We have to decide which technology ultimately makes life simpler or business better, then be willing to ditch the rest. “Good to Great” author Jim Collins reminds us that technology enables good ideas but doesn’t create them.

But looking up at my 42-inch plasma television set, my mind is drifting to thoughts of the 65-inch, laser-driven Mitsubishi LaserVue HDTV television that Time’s Quittner was telling me about. For a mere $7,000, I could be watching football games in the highest of high definition with the most vivid colors and. …excuse me, I just got a text. Oh, the market’s down again – back to the reality of the day.

I’m a technology addict, and I clearly need help.

Perhaps my getting the family a Wii game console for Christmas will distract me from the iPhone for a few hours and help jump-start my recovery.

(Jeff Hankins can be reached via e-mail at [email protected].)