The BBC is warning about the rampant new problem of techno addiction – when gadgets get so damn sexy that people become addicted to them.

According to the venerable BBC:

• Techno addiction can become so bad that people wake up several times a night to check their e-mails and text messages;
• Techno addiction can interfere with an addict’s job as he feels he has to be linked up all the time;
• Techno addiction can even interfere with an addict’s personal relationships.

Yep – we’re talking full-blown iPod Madness.

“We are creatures of habit and we can get addicted to quite unusual things,” says Professor Nada Kakabadse of Northampton University. “You would be surprised how many people had their PDA or Blackberry next to their bed heads.”

And if you’re already caught in the grips of gadget-lust, it may be too late for you.

Gateway Devices To Sinliness

iPods and iPhones and those other iGadget things may look innocent, in their shiny minimalist way, but it turns out that they are gateway devices to sex and sinliness – leading women to lives of wanton abandon and young men to lives of fritteration.

That’s when you fritter your time away with your latest gadget, leaving your loved ones looking around bored.

The Devil Device

Some may still not realize that these gadgets are really devil devices – delivering an unadulterated dose of sex, instant gratification and jungle rhythms directly to your cerebral cortex.

If you’re already using one of these iGadgets, it may already be too late for you:

“Some people are very anxious when they don’t have their technological gadgets next to them,” notes Prof Kakabadse. “They might get into trouble with their employers as they spend more and more time checking messages.”

She said it was often difficult to detect when someone had become an addict, “And when it is detectable it is often too late”.

Prof Kakabadse stopped short of calling for warnings to be put on all gadgets, but said employers should provide training on the safe use of technological devices they provide to their staff.

Consider yourself warned.

Images: l0ckergn0me , Got Jenna, annamatic3000, Ben Northern