Internet Pros Check Email Less Often
from the it'll-be-there-later dept
We've written in the past about how younger internet users are often using other forms of communication (instant messaging, text messaging, social network private messaging, etc.) over email, and now comes a study noting that more experienced internet users tend to check their email less frequently than newer internet users. The folks behind the report suggest that experienced internet users have reached the point at which they don't want email controlling them any more -- but it makes you wonder if the real answer is that many are using other forms of communication instead of email, decreasing the importance of email. By the way, the other finding in the study: email users over the age of 70 think you should reply to emails quickly, rather than letting them linger. So go ahead, email your grandparents right back. We'll wait.
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Filed Under: checking, email, experienced users
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phone too
Why? Just because people have a string attached directly to my consciousness, doesn't mean they should tug on that string at every whim and fancy.
But perhaps that's showing a bit much of my anti-social behavior, yes? This does not appear to be the norm in our society.
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what does mike do?
well mike, do you check your email frequently?
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Re: what does mike do?
Actually... not as much as I used to.
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Some truth to study
As for using other forms of communication, I dont know about that. I think folks are just getting tired of always having to check email. I still use the phone, though, to communicate with others and sometimes I'll even go over to my next door neighbor and talk to him face to face. I know! The humanity of it all!
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agreed
Some people at my work check their mail religiously even at the slightest notification for mail. Eh, I say.
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Novelty has worn off.
I don't religiously carry my mobile with me anymore either. Some times it's good to not be contactable.
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@Verse
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Novelty
Also, I tend to rely on notifications for anything updating like that. So I don't really check constantly, but when I do get an alert I tend to read it immediately.
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Even my grandfather who's well into his 80's uses gmail notifier.
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Boss wanted to get me a smart phone
I DID accept a cellular wireless card (I live way out of the metro areas) so if I really needed to get on line I could. That has been a life saver at certain points. But I still have the excuse to avoid... "I am driving", "I don't have cell phone service", "I am not online", "It will take a while for my computer to get started up, what can I help you with?"....
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checking email how often?
But if email is the way your business communicates, then you have to pay adequate attention. Example - email to all the tech coordinators world wide saying "check if this patch Tuesday fix from M$FT breaks any local apps as we will implement automatically install everywhere next Tuesday unless you tell us of problems" is a message that job descriptionwise you can't ignore.
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Large items, say a 1,000 page report or large CAD drawings, are to big (contain to many bits) for E-Mail.
If more immediate response is need, which is rare ules you are working a 911 desk, then E-mail is nor an apporiate form of communication.
Other wise you have work to do and should not be playing around.
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z
There are so many better ways to communicate.
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Why we "check" email less often
New internet users probably haven't discovered these things yet and possibly open their email client just to see if they have an unread message.
That being said, I'm using my email much less to communicate with other people. For me, it's now where I receive alerts and digests to important sites I wish to be kept up to date on, or anything involving work or the like. This has drastically reduced my use of email since now for taking with other people there's plenty of other options (as you've mentioned).
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I disagree
That doesn't mean I sit and monitor a webpage app every 2 seconds, or use text messaging etc, but I use email constantly for information from people or companies I've done business or for personal reasons. To suggest its less used today I think is one of those things that just may or may not be true.
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Exactly
I get more shit done, produce higher quality deliverables when I don't have email alerts jumping at me in the corner like a fucking Jack Russel terrier.
Its good to be unplugged.
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Let's have a brainstorming session on this topic
I'll offer coffee and water for those who didn't bring lunch.
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Interesting conjecture
I think there is Gartner (and similar) data showing that use of both IM and SMS is increasing in the workplace; so perhaps there is some data to support the conjecture.
And, depending upon how one is measuring email, crackberry use (still email, but different form factor) may not be showing up. And crackberry use is certainly increasing.
Personally, though, I have decided I am too connected and am backing off from making myself ubiquitously available. I suspect there is some of this going on among others as well.
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ADAPTED BOWLING BALLS
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