Afternoon:
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THE news that Barack Obama may have to forfeit his beloved BlackBerry because of fears about hacking and the keeping of records may be the breakthrough I've been waiting for.
In the past few years, I confess, I've been fighting an addiction - to no effect. I can restrict my alcohol and I think I can just about combat chocolate. But this one has got me beat. The urge to check my BlackBerry is overwhelming. Last thing in the evening, first thing in the morning, I must have a peek. Even in the middle of the night, I've occasionally got up and found myself staring at the squat, glowing screen.
At the theatre, in meetings, on the golf course, between games of tennis, even in the car at traffic lights, I've had a surreptitious click and a scroll. It's desperate.
I'm not alone, of course. I've noticed others adopt the familiar hunched shoulders, head-down position. I've seen them - beside the swimming pool on holiday, at football matches, walking along the pavement (and looking up just in time to avoid a lamp-post).
They all need help. And it may have come, at last, from the president-elect. Obama is a CrackBerry junkie himself. Before he boarded an aircraft and as soon as he disembarked on the campaign trail, he reached for his pocket and read his emails. During the count, when he was making history, he couldn't help himself - sending a friend an email from his BlackBerry, "How about that?"
There is no cooler person on the planet right now than Obama. His sense of style is immaculate. He manages to wear business suits without appearing fusty. When he went to the gym, his street attire put to shame that of other politicians who earnestly try to engage with the young by dressing like them.
Now, though, he will be minus that most necessary accessory for a master of the universe. How will he cope? How will he be able to withstand the agony of not knowing who is trying to reach him or send him a message?
According to Professor Gayle Porter of Rutgers University the strict cold turkey enforced by the White House officials and US Secret Service may be what he requires in order to break the habit. She says BlackBerry addicts need the same kind of treatment as that afforded druggies and victims of mental illness. "Employers provide programmes to help workers with substance addictions," she says. "Addiction to technology can be equally damaging."
Often, the "little friend" - as CrackBerry-heads come to know the familiar, always present hand-held - is supplied by their employer so they feel obliged to carry it with them at all times (woe betide anyone who says theirs was switched off or they left it in the car).
All self-respecting companies issue them for fear of not being seen to be up to speed with the latest technology - likewise, thrusting executives want to be spotted using one. Now, though, salvation may have arrived in the shape of security agents' paranoia and a law that orders the White House to retain all presidential correspondence.
It just might be the turning point. Hallelujah!
