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Opinion
E-mail Is for Old People
11/8/2006
So, what d'es this trend in communications styles among young people mean? How, for example, can we be sure that our institutions are communicating adequately with students if the students find it distasteful to use e-mail?
If I can’t persuade my 18-year-old and my 21-year-old to check their e-mail more often, or to use it once in a while to share with me, what luck are professors having with students? The Fox News item cites an expert saying:
“It's one thing to have this always-on communication when it is people you want to talk to, but once you switch to a more professional environment, that delay is nice to have," Barrett said. "So it's a big question on how that will work. I suspect you'll see more of a mix as this generation enters the workforce. E-mail will remain a way to get in touch, but they'll also use instant messaging as well.
So, it’s the old “enlightened self interest” story. Profs hand out grades, bosses hand out paychecks, therefore young people will conform – at least enough to satisfy their need for grades and money? Maybe.
If it weren’t so doggoned useful! Perhaps my current very negative attitude toward e-mail is a mid-life crisis? I already have the little red convertible, so probably not. Maybe I am a much older bellwether, trending despite my age in the same direction as the Millennials?
It’s not my choice, though. I am responsible to folks who write my paycheck, and as a group, higher education professionals have adopted e-mail as their primary means of communication. So, just as soon as I put the next edition of SCUP’s Trends to Watch in Higher Education to bed – sometime this weekend – I will sit down, sigh heavily, and proceed to move e-mail folders, create new ones, ruthlessly winnow out tens of thousands of useful messages at once, and set a myriad of new filters.
That might help. Until I know for sure, though, if you e-mail me, use a very clear subject line! If you don’t hear back from me in a day or two, try sending a second message. And, please don’t leave me a voice message. In fact, whenever I am online, I am available with AOL instant messenger as “splendid1.”
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