Tech Gadget Obsession Reaches Addiction Levels

Can’t put down your iPad or Samsung Smartphone? Tech gadget obsession may have turned users into zombie addicts.

People who carry multiple cool tech gadgets over at Evernote in Silicon Valley are featured in today’s Wall Street Journal. At first I thought it was only smartphone addiction. But the obsession has spread to tablets, laptops, netbooks, iPods and all the peripheral gear: extra batteries, USB wireless modems, power cords, etc., etc.

The Evernote geeks justify lugging 25 pounds of tech gear with them based on feature preferences. They like owning the latest and greatest tech gadgets that heightens social status. But their addiction for electronic gear is clearly a sign of tech gadget obsession.

Albert M. Muniz, Jr., a professor of marketing at DePaul University in Chicago has studied devoted Apple geeks. He thinks they’re three major characteristics of iPad and Mac owners:

Rituals and Traditions. Apple devotees were willing to stand in line or sleep overnight near an Apple store to buy an iPad, when they could have ordered it online. Standing side-by-side with a tribe or community, however, is most satisfying.
Like Harley riders, many Apple customers feel a need to help others who share similar values expressed in the “I’m a Mac” television commercials.
Exclusivity. Since Windows-based computers have always dominated the market over Macs, there’s a sense of “us vs. them” leading to devotion to the Apple brand, adding to tech gadget obsession.

In a recent CNN article about smartphone obsession, we learn about a 28 year old who, when waking up in the morning, immediately needs his phone to check Facebook and Twitter messages. Like many smartphone owners, he carries his phone in his hand rather than his pocket to make sure he doesn’t miss any photo opportunities.

Tech Gadget Obsession in the U.K.

And it’s not only U.S. consumers. In England, consumers spend NINE hours a day dealing with their tech gadget obsession–over five hours a day just on computers, nearly one hour with smartphones and 38 minutes playing video games.

Here’s how consumers in England spend their daily tech time:

Microwave – 10 minutes

Computer – 4 hours 5 minutes

Laptop – 1 hour 34 minutes

Smart phone – 56 minutes

Mobile phone – 38 minutes

MP3 player – 38 minutes

Sat Nav – 5 minutes

Television – 16 minutes

Sky Plus – 10 minutes

Computer games – 38 minutes

Clock radio – 1 minute