9: Check for New Mail

Check for new mail. Check for new mail. Check for new mail. Check for new mail. Some people, like me, constantly check their email throughout the day. For me, it is one of the first things I do when I get up and one of the last things I do before I go to bed. Throughout the day, whenever I am near a computer, I always check my email. On my own computer, I leave up the site and just consistently click the “check for new mail” tab. I think for many people who engage in this online activity of persistently checking their email, it becomes very automatic and something one does without even thinking about it. While am unsure whether this behavior alone will lead to PIU, I think that it does fit with in with some of Wallace’s factors that might affect whether one engages in PIU.

Checking one’s email falls under the electronic mail online psychological space, and this space, according to Wallace, has “become a vitally important Internet environment for net users, who now consider it to be side by side with the Web as an indispensable technology.” Based on Wallace’s four factors, I think that two of the main aspects of email checking that may lead to PIU are operant conditioning and maintenance of virtual presence. Operant conditioning is when a behavior is rewarded with a variable schedule, that behavior becomes more difficult to extinguish. With email, one never really knows whether or not he/she has mail. So sometimes when one clicks the “check for new mail” tab, it will say “ # unread messages” while other times it will continue to say “0 unread messages” – but one never knows. I think this factor plays a major role in why people constantly feel the need to check their email because one just never knows whether or not he/she has something important waiting in his/her inbox. There is no system where if you check every two hours, something will be there; you just need to frequently check in order to stay on top of your mail. The second factor, maintenance of virtual presence, is also an important part of this online activity. I know, for me, when I do not check my email, I feel lost and unaware of everything that is going on. I get emails all of the time where I am expected to respond back quickly or emails that pertain to something I am doing that day. I think that email is involved in this need to be online and feel connected. Some groups or communities that people are involved with depend on email, so people may feel that they need to constantly check their email to maintain a virtual presence.

In relation to Caplan’s model of the cycle where psychosocial problems leads to low social competence, which leads to preference for internet interaction to less threatening, more efficacious, which leads to excessive compulsive use of the internet, which then leads back to psychosocial problems, I do not think that email checking really fits in with this idea. I am not sure how loneliness or depression relates to whether or not one would be more or less inclined to check his or her email. Perhaps one who constantly checks his/her email and sends email may prefer internet interaction more, but I think that besides email checking, there are additional activities and factors that lead to excessive compulsive use of the internet.

Something that is unique to electronic mail is the idea that some jobs, businesses, and schools facilitate this constant checking of one’s email. For example, I’ve had to check my email a lot more since I came to college because I am always receiving important information through email. I believe that Cornell is very web based and emails keep me up-to-date and in contact with many people. I am always on uportal and I think that email is a main source of communication among students, faculty, and staff. In these instances, email becomes almost a necessity to stay on top of one’s schedule and work.

Overall, constantly checking one’s email is an online activity that fits with some aspects of Wallace’s factors that affect whether one engages in PIU. I do not think that email checking will automatically lead to PIU but I think that coupled with other online activities, it has potential to lead to PIU.