Constantly spending time checking and replying to emails has the capability of causing one to become a problematic Internet user. Making sure that you are not “late” with a response to friends and family will continue to put you behind the computer screen checking emails. Having the ability to forward emails to your cell phone has once again increased the accessibility and usage of email.
Caplan suggests that problematic Internet use stems from 3 major factors. He believes that people with psychosocial problems begin to hold negative perceptions of their social competence. They prefer online interaction because it is less threatening and they are able to feel more successful. The preference to communicate online only grows because they become obsessive and compulsive with their online interaction, and in turn begin to spend longer amounts online.
People have begun the notion that they can only communicate through email. Sometimes they will only resort to email as a mean of communication. Being able to access the email at home, work and school (Caplan 2004) will also have an affect on how much people really spend using their email accounts. Even though it has evolved into a very meaningful way to communicate, using email constantly can be viewed as an addiction. When someone is in communication with many people through email, they sometimes begin to lose contact through other means and eventually just rely on the email service. Once contacts become associated through email, this form of communication usually wins and is used constantly, therefore checking and responding to emails becomes an obsession.
Having access to email through the Internet everywhere, including on your cell phone has made escaping the habit nearly impossible. Once using email regularly, every visit to the Internet usually involves a quick stop to check out the inbox and respond to everyone who has developed the same addictive habit.
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3 comments:
I think that you made some very interesting points in your blog post, especially given the climbing number of people who own a phone with e-mailing and internet capabilities. I definitely understand how this can be beneficial to people, especially those who are constantly traveling, because it allows them to be connected to work at all times. However, what does this do to family time and family vacations when parents are obsessively checking their e-mail because they can and because they probably cannot help it. In addition to what you noted about people communicating through e-mail as the only means of communication, I think it is important to consider what this does to the people that one is not constantly e-mailing such as family and close friends. The ability to bring work into the home, out to dinner, and everywhere that one goes may be having a very large impact on our interpersonal connections with others.
I really like this post. I admit that I spend a great deal of time checking my email. I will do things like stop at Barton Hall to check on my way to practice because it is the last building with wireless. The cell phone thing is interesting...I know lots of people check their emails on their cell phone, but I think most people do not, texting is still very predominant. I would like to point out that the idea of avoiding "late responses" may almost save time because you won't later have to dig through and read all old emails to keep track of what you have completed yet. I know I save time by responding immediately.
I also chose email as an online activity that can lead to PIU and I think you touched on an important idea that people have begin to think that they can only communicate through email. Similarly, I also felt that one unique aspect of email is that some jobs, businesses, and schools facilitate this constant checking of one’s email. I found myself checking my mail a lot more when I came to college than when I was in high school. So this in addition to the fact that one can have access to email everywhere, including your cell phone, makes checking your email become constant habit.
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