younger generation -

I completely love e-mail, as I dislike the phone–cell or hard-line. My former career in showbiz was spent on the phone so now I love the freedom of answering and responding to e-mail whenever I want. However, I am frustrated with e-mail as it is fraught with problems and, as I just read, is rapidly becoming anachronistic as more immediate forms of communication, such as IMs and Twitter, are taking over (among the younger generation specifically).

The thing that I keep on forgetting and can’t seem to learn is how e-mail is not the same as direct dialogue. Subtlety rarely comes across and sarcasm usually is lost. Then, there are the bigger risks when dealing with the opposite gender of being misunderstood and accused of flirting or the like.

E-mail etiquette is so ubiquitous that we forget that it isn’t talking on the phone or having a conversation in person. Subtlety, facial expressions, or tonality are all lost in an e-mail message. I have found this has gotten me in trouble when I think I’m being funny, subtle, or sarcastic in an e-mail. And, the habit many of us have of forwarding a joke, photo, or an article creates even greater problems in many cases.

I think e-mail should probably be treated as Eliza Doolittle was advised in “My Fair Lady” about making conversation. “Stick to the weather and health” was Professor Higgins’s caution. Even that proved problematic as Eliza went into too much embarrassing detail about her own family’s health, before she completely blew it with her expletive encouraging one of the racehorses to “move your bloomin’ ass!”

Tag Archives: younger generation

Just A Guy Frustrated With E-Mail

E-mail, Etiquette, and Friends