Christmas to be marred by 'CrackBerry' addiction?

It seems you can add email addiction to problems such as over-eating, over-drinking and disputes with the in-laws which tend to reach a head at Christmas time.

This Christmas more than half of BlackBerry users will keep checking their emails throughout the holiday according to seasonal research conducted by silicon.com.

A healthy 21 per cent of respondents said they would be switching off their BlackBerry the moment they leave the office for the Christmas holiday, while 16 per cent said they would have to check a few emails but would be switching it off for a few days.

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But those findings contrast sharply with 26 per cent of respondents who said their BlackBerry would be on for the duration of the festive season and they would be checking it throughout. A further four per cent said they hope to be able to switch off their BlackBerry on Christmas Day itself while 26 per cent expressed mock surprise that their BlackBerry even has an off-switch.

Other findings suggest a put-upon eight per cent of respondents will keep using their BlackBerry until it causes the first row with their other half.