It’s great being alive in this day and age! It’s wonderful to experience an ever-increasing rate of technological development, and enjoying the latest and most sophisticated gadgets available for mass consumption. However… it’s all too easy getting carried away, and the line between enjoyment and obsession sometimes runs thin and elusive.

Are you the kind of person who enjoys using gadgets… or the kind whose life satisfaction is a function getting all the latest toys available? Do you have a healthy relationship with technology, or are you fast becoming a slave to the manufacturer’s agendas? This article will hopefully help you get some perspective by pointing out a gradient of increasing gadget-dependence. Read on and ask yourself honestly… where do you stand?

Level 1: Common User

According to gearhungry.com, this is where most people begin their relationship with technology: as a common user. In this level, you start taking a curiosity to gadgets, and finally decide it’s time to get your own Smartphone. You start playing around with it, marvel at the possibilities, then start integrating the device in your routine. You become a regular social media user, and you start wondering what other gadgets would maybe help improve your quality of life. Regardless, you still use your phone primarily for making calls, and even though you enjoy technology, you don’t really spend that much time reading user manuals or looking through reviews of new devices.

Level 2: Tech Enthusiast

At some point, you start getting affectionate to your smartphone and you begin to wonder just what else those developers are inventing, these days. You start occasionally catching up on industry related news, and you cannot help but evangelize a bit every now and then: about how cool technology really is, and how all your friends should get out from under their old-fashioned analogical rocks and start getting up to date on the latest advancements. You start wondering how you ever managed to get by without a smartphone and its veritable swiss-army knife assortment of apps which are quickly becoming necessities to your daily routine.

Level 3: Gadget Connoisseur

Sooner than you know it, you’re already familiar with most of the newcomers to the smartphone market. And the tablets market, and the different kinds of computers. You’re starting to tell the different brands apart based on their productions values, and you clearly understand the difference between a laptop, netbook and UMPC. You know the pros and cons of Android vs. iOS and you likely have chosen your rightful place in either side of the fence. Your friends start coming to you for tech-related advice and life is going great… with the help of your plentiful gadgets and toys.

Level 4: Technofile

It’s probably around this point that people start crossing that thin line we mentioned, that goes between enjoyment and obsession. In this level, you start to develop something akin to feelings towards your gadgets. You start getting really excited when you read about a particular new model, and your knowledge level is clearly above that of anyone of those less-than-competent service people at the electronics store. You no longer remember what life was like before you had a table in your house just for setting up your chargers, accessories and assorted progeny gadgets.

Level 5: Tech-Collector

Until eventually, a day comes when you realize that table and cabinet are no longer enough to comfortably store your devices. You start pondering reserving a whole room in your house for that effect. You find yourself purchasing gadgets at a faster rate than you can really appreciate them or put them to good use. At this stage, you already think of your gadgets as collectibles, which makes it totally OK to own half a dozen tablets and more computers than you can keep track of. Your “common user” friends start shuddering whenever you start ranting about the latest tech news. Is this the end of the line for you? No because the well goes much deeper than you ever imagined possible…

Level 6: Tech-no-Chronic

You start wondering just how long it will take until you can get some kind of neural interface or electronic implant that brings you even closer to your beloved machines. You cannot help but fantasize with a future where people can get electronic chips implanted under their skin. When that day arrives, you want to be the first in line! In the meanwhile, you bid your time by looking up promising new technologies on Kickstarter, so you can be among the first to benefit from them. You live and breathe technology, and it’s become your main interest in life. At this level of gadget dependence, your families and dear ones are clearly worried, but you know there’s absolutely no turning back. Or is there?