COLUMN: Society's downfall: e-mail overuse

From David Brown's "How It Works," Fall '97 But then an hour later, the same student is again punching at the keyboard, hoping some new technological contact will have been born in his account. Such delight is rarely expressed when the telephone rings or someone knocks at the door. Although e-mail is often useful, its overuse is leading to a deterioration of communication skills. Each electronic transmission is a lost opportunity for improvement in interpersonal development. We use e-mail to communicate with everyone -- including our friends at Penn and at other schools, professors and family. As long as its use does not hinder the spread of information, it is convenient. But when one-line e-mails are traded back and forth, it is pointless. This is exemplified when friends or professors trade numerous e-mails in a day, trying to arrange a time to meet. Picking up the phone would be much simpler and faster. Not getting the verbal intonations from e-mail, it is harder to determine what the other person really wants. And checking e-mail every couple of minutes waiting for a reply is a waste of time. Once there is a response, we are so eager to send something back that we fail to look at what we write. Poor grammar is common in e-mail and successive mistakes weaken our writing skills. As we think more as we write, talking becomes more difficult. This leads to even more e-mail, as fear of social interaction attracts us to the keyboard. Some interpret the number of e-mails as status -- engineers brag to one another about how many they get and, as a result, how busy they are. Does this mean these people have lives, or just love their computers and its capabilities? Those in engineering assume others know everything about the Internet, and spend hours trying to find out new tricks or making Web pages. And when these discoveries are found, it is communicated to their friends -- by e-mail, or a talking application. An example of total student stupidity involves "talk" -- when two ethernet-wired buddies sit at their terminals typing away to each other, with unused phones sitting on their desks. At best, with this primitive terminal program operating on ethernet, about 40 words per minute can be transmitted between monitors. How difficult is it to pick-up the phone? It may be understandable if students at different schools cannot afford a long-distance call. Some think they are slick in saving money, and arrange a time to "meet" on "talk," i.e. sit and stare at their individual monitors exchanging bits of information. Phone time is not that expensive (maybe 15 cents a minute), and the time saved by talking is more valuable than typing and dealing with lags. Plus, you can hear the other person's voice, and can also attempt to interpret their mood and emotions. And you know you are speaking to the correct person. With e-mail, identities can be easily forged, and users can create false impressions. This is exemplified in chat rooms where men can become women and vice versa. How much of a waste of time and integrity would it be to hit on an on-line woman, only to discover many e-mails later that she was a guy in technological disguise? Of course, this can happen in real life too, and is probably much more humiliating. E-mail may suit some of your daily needs, however, when it comes to commitment, either socially or financially, interaction is essential. Relationships carried over the Internet are ridiculous. Childish dating games are perpetuated over e-mail, such as not responding immediately, trying to play the "not too desperate" to return the e-mail route. Then the other gets upset when he "fingers" her account, to realize she has logged in, but has not responded. So he calls her, and challenges why she did not e-mail back. The problem is he was unsure of himself in e-mailing originally, fearing oral rejection versus seeing the same words on a computer screen. Unfortunately for engineers and others stereotypically attached to e-mail, companies require telephone or live interviews. Personal skills lost at the keyboard will be apparent at the interview, and will hurt your chances of landing a job. As the chance for live discussion decreases, e-mail is only one form of non-interpersonal relation that is worsening society's communication skills. Calling many companies and stores requires navigation through automated systems. There is the opportunity to escape conversation by leaving a message on the answering machine -- or by voice mail or an alphanumeric page. Now it is spring, and only one day away from Fling (well, for some it started earlier), socialization proceeds in person, as thousands of drunk college students run into one another. Hopefully, those who meet and decide to further their relationship will exchange phone numbers instead of e-mail addresses. E-mail is overused on campus, and once students return home this summer, I doubt many will socialize with high school friends via e-mail. Instead, they will return to the regular world where phone calls are made and pages are sent. Continuing to use the Internet as a social outlet will require more work in the future to remove this harmful addiction. And the more you use e-mail, the further you will be removed from true interaction. And may never overcome your fear of socialization.