Blackberry-dependent at home and in church: E-mail addiction

Denizens of Washington, D.C., are the most addicted, but more Atlantans do it in church. A new 20-city survey on “e-mail addiction,” released by America Online, said the nation’s capital is the most afflicted—no surprise to anyone who’s witnessed that city’s “crackberry” epidemic.

But Atlantans led the way in checking e-mail in church, with 22 percent confessing to peeking at a portable device during services, according to the AOL survey.

The poll, conducted online, included 4,025 respondents 13 and older from 20 cities around the country. Responses were collected June 7-19.

A city’s number of e-mail addicts was measured by the percentage of residents who have more than one e-mail account; how many times they check their e-mail each day; how often people check personal e-mails while at work; the percentage of people who e-mail more than once a day while on vacation; the time spent writing or reading e-mail; and the percentage who admit to an e-mail addiction.

Houston and Denver tied for second in the checking-e-mail-in-church category, with 19 percent in both cities confessing to the deed. Washington placed third with 18 percent, followed closely by Los Angeles (17 percent), Sacramento and Phoenix (15 percent) and Tampa (13 percent).

No survey respondent in Minneapolis reported checking e-mail in church. –Religion News Service