The Email Flood

Email is the quintessential computer application nowadays. Even old grannies who were previously afraid to touch a computer with a 15-foot pole have gotten new zeal to delve into computing, if only to e-mail their great-great-nephew twice-removed about the latest cookie recipes.

But email is such a distraction nowadays. It's all "Look at this!", "Lookie here!", and "Forward this to at least 3 people or else you'll die a lonely and obese man, with cataracts."

I am looking at my G-mail inbox with 28,000+ unread messages. Oh, and that's just G-mail - I have 4 other email accounts to check on. Most are updates for new pieces by my fellow AC contributers - thank you so much, and I'll try harder to keep up with it!

It is a strange solace sometimes, "oh I have some unread emails. Let me check again." But the time that email robs from us is mind-boggling. Each piece of email you look at is time spent, and if it is spam then that is a waste. But even with the best filter you cannot avoid spam.

And now we have access to our emails even while driving, or using the bathroom, or sleeping! With the influx of PDA and smart phones(do they make us smarter), you can get email everywhere.

Little wonder then that some people suffer from something called Email Addiction, or Emailoholism. The symptoms tend to increase when people get mobile phones and devices that keep them connected at all times. One of the main addictive things about email is that it quickly and powerfully allows us to communicate with people anywhere. And it can be gossipy, intimate, funny, whatever we want. From keeping in touch to landing a job, email serves many versatile purposes.

Logically, it should increase our productivity. It should make us smarter, more accomplished , and more connected. The big question though, is has it done that for me? Because one can use or abuse. Well, I'll think about it for a while.

But it seems that for many, it has become a distraction. Nobody can deny that most of the email that we get is ultimately useless. Lots of misdirected stuff too. Lots of those cute kitten or motivational emails.

We look at it , maybe smile at a funny story, and move on. Got to see what's next !

Source:
Tschabitscher, Heinz. Email Addiction (Emailoholism). About.com.