Whose got the BBM infection?

Sometime between the last quarter of 2009 and first quarter of 2010 an infective bug was let loose more than before and its effects grew so exponentially. One that when it bites leaves one frenziedly frisking fingers through the keypads of the bug originator (phone). A chronic infection! This infection is the almighty BlackBerry Messenger (BBM). I guess that name is quite familair? The purchasing trend for a Blackberry phone increased not for the smartphone, business-official and email purpose but for the chatting ish - BBM.

What is the BBM? It is quite synonymous to the Yahoo messenger, GTalk, MSN, 2go etc. The plus side of the BBm is that it offers that aesthetics and allows you to do a little customizing of the characters you want to choose. It also gives room for your online friends to know the songs you are listening at a particular moment (This is actually a way to start up or spice up a conversation). The BBM is the only chat app that allows segmentation of friends into groups as well as choosing to belong to groups.

With all these positives the addiction and social nuisance transmitted by the BBM bug is overwhelming. From checking your phone first thing when you rise from bed to being the last thing you always want to  set your eyes on before going to bed. The major reason why you will always want to charge your Blackberry phone every hour. Driving and pinging is a different tale! Walking on the road or "watching TV" with eyes glued on the screens of the BBM device. Most annoying social nuisance is seeing people fiddling with their phones in meetings, executive meetings! A colleague of mine got a query for that from her boss for pinging during a meeting with a state governor in the governor's office. An honor she rubbished.

Annoyingly, the BBM can never be turned off as you can't sign out of it. The best you can do is turn your alert to the silent mode. What a bondage to be pitied. RIM why? Worst of all once you change your BB to a higher model you've got to start re-entering and re-adding all your contacts as these cannot be backed up on the PC manager or synonymous to the GTalk, Yahoo messenger, MSN etc. A burden of a job to do.

Interestingly, the sale of the Blackberry can never decline. Reasons being that the device has a very versatile in the sense that it makes you feel belonged among a particular clique - The BB people; all longed for by mature adults and the teeming youths, children inclusive. A perception that attaches the blackberry to an article of ostentation yet bringing an anti social behavior. Really?! A friend once said, "I never liked the Blackberry but my fiance wanted it so bad, I got it for her and right now I beg her for attention because she is so into her BBM than myself." What a confession. My cousin says without her Blackberry (BBM) she feels lonely and depressed.

I'll really like to know what you guys think. If you are a Blackberry phone user please tell us how you deal with and manage this infection or are you immune to it. Also, if you are not a BB user how do you feel not belonging to this group and how's the urge like wanting to join.

People get the comments coming...