E-mail addiction: Where you go, the beep follows
Karen Black admits she often jumps at the sound of the beep.
You know which beep I’m talking about.
The beep of news from a loved one.
The beep of important business information.
The beep of tidings from a new friend in a Third World country who desperately needs help with an international money transfer.
Yes, it’s the beep from your computer – or now your phone or Blackberry – that says you have new mail.
“If I’m relaxing at home before I go to bed and I hear it beep, I’ll go check it,” Black says.
Black, who is an owner of Lawrence’s Local Burger restaurant, isn’t alone. A new survey by online giant AOL found that 46 percent of e-mail users surveyed said they’re addicted to e-mail. That’s up from just 15 percent a year ago.
The survey, conducted this summer, found 51 percent of people check their e-mail four or more times per day. One in five said that they check their e-mail more than 10 times per day.
Black doesn’t even count anymore.
“Honestly, I’m in my e-mail most of the day, unless I’m on a special project,” says Black, who estimates she has about 15 e-mail addresses between her business and personal interests. “Only if I need to really concentrate am I ever out of it.”
But can you get too much of a good thing? The survey indicates people are on the verge of finding out. It reports there’s almost no place that is immune from the e-mail beep. The survey found that 59 percent of people regularly check e-mail in the bathroom, 50 percent check while driving, 39 percent while in a club or bar, 25 percent while on a date and 15 percent while in church.
Black says the need to be tied to an e-mail account has caused tension with friends and family, especially when she had a career in international telecommunications and was required to carry a mobile e-mail device with her everywhere she went.
“There is a proper time and place for everything,” Black says. “Sitting or relaxing with friends is not the time to check your e-mail. I’ve learned that.”
Nancy Baym, an associate professor of communication studies at Kansas University, says that’s her main piece of advice as well – face to face conversations should take precedence over e-mail. But otherwise, Baym says she’s not too concerned that Americans are becoming overly engrossed with e-mail.
“People constantly checking how a sporting event is coming along probably does more to interrupt conversations than e-mail,” Baym says.
On behalf of men everywhere, ouch.