7/11/2015 A Eulogy for the Long, Intimate Email - The New York Times

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AEulogyfortheLong,IntimateEmailJULY11,2015

FutureTense

ByTEDDYWAYNE

WhenIstartedcollegein1997,Igotmyfirstemailaccount,asdidmostofmypeers.Overthenextfouryears,Isentandreceivedcountlessramblingletterstofriends,bothoffandoncampus,ahabitthatpersistedforadecadeorsoaftergraduation.

NowIcantrememberthelasttimeIwroteorreadanemailofmorethanfourorfivemeaty,intimateparagraphs.Icanchalkupsomeofmyletterwritingdeclinetomyageandprofession:Ihavea(somewhat)smallerappetitethesedaysforKnausgaardiannavelgazing,andexpendmoreenergywritingforwork.

Mydecreasedrelianceonpersonalemail,however,maycorrespondwithglobaltrends.AccordingtotheRadicatiGroup,atechnologymarketingfirm,businessemailusersnowsendandreceiveanaverageof122messagesperday,upfrom110in2010.Sealingandopeningallthosevirtualenvelopestakesatoll:A2012reportfromMcKinseyfoundthatworkersspent28percentoftheirdayonemail.

Whilethenumberscannotaccountforhowmanyemailsarepersonal,

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itstandstoreasonthatfewsentonbusinessaccountsareandthatpeopleareoftentooexhaustedfromtherelentlessinundationtocomposemeaningfulletters.

Iveryrarelygetalongemailfromsomeone,saidJohnFreeman,aliterarycriticandtheauthorofthenonfictionbookTheTyrannyofEMail.Hecomparedthecurrentera,inwhicheveryoneisoverwhelmedbyhisorherinbox,withhistimeaftercollegeinthelate90s,whenpeoplestilldidwritelongemailsandtherewassomethingexhilarating,hesaid,abouttheupstartfreetechnologythatenabledconnectivitywithanyone.

Iftherewasagoldenageoftheepistolarypersonalemail,itmostlikelystartedinthisperiodandendedsometimeinthelateaughts.

Electronicmailcantraceitsoriginstoacademicandmilitaryinitiativesinthe1960s,thoughitdidntenterthemainstreamuntilthemid90s,withAOLMail(1992),MicrosoftHoTMaiL(itsoriginalstyling,in1996)andYahooMail(1997).Broadbandaccess,availableonmostcollegecampusesandinfiltratinghomesaroundthistime,helpedmakeitmorewidespread.

IntheClintonBushyears,emailwasatoolforsubstantivedialogue.Cellphoneswerentubiquitousuntilthe2000s,andaccordingtoareportfromNielsen,textmessagesdidntsurpassphonecallsuntil2007.Longdistancecallingremainedexpensive.Socialmediawasnotyetwidelyused.Paranoiaoverhacked,leakedorsurveilledemailswaslow.Sendinglettersbypostalmailhadbeenanantiquatedpracticeforsometime.And,astheRadicatinumbersindicate,workrelatedemailandgraymailnotificationsfromcompanieswerefarlessintensive.

Thenonstopdelugeofprofessionalemailshastrainedustoignoremessagesirrelevanttous(or,often,deletethemwithoutevenreading).Othereasilydismisseddigitalcommunicationtexts,tweets,Instagramshavealsodulledourresponseskills.Ifitsfullypermissibletotrashuponreceiptanintraofficeemailfromhumanresources,itseemsfinetoblowoffafriendscheckin(ortoreplycurtly).Fifteenyearsago,thiswouldhavebeenconsideredrude.Butnow,Mr.Freemansaid,evenpeoplewhodont

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workinfilmknowwhattheL.A.nois:thatsilenceisareply.

Still,manyfeelanxioushackingawaytheweedsoftheiremailfolders.EmmaAllen,27,estimatedshereceivesaround200workmissivesadayinherpositionontheeditorialstaffofTheNewYorker.IfIdonthavezeroemailsinbothmypersonalandworkinboxes,Icantsleepatnight,shesaid.

Asaprophylaxisagainstinsomnia,Ms.Allencurtailsfriendlyemailexchanges.Ifyougetintoalongemailgame,youeachwritebackandthenyouowethem,andyoucantdothisslashandburnwithemails,whichIfeellikeIdoalldayandnight,shesaid.Mymothersalwayssendingme900wordemailswith15logisticalquestions.WhenIopenonefromher,Ihaveapanicattack.

TheremaybemoretoMs.Allensresistancethanherdemandingjobandamaternalexcessperhapsshewassimplyborntoolatetobecomeattachedtoemail.Shefirstgotapersonalaccountinhighschool,butsaidshehasconsistentlyengagedinlengthyemailswithonlyonefriend.Bythetimeshearrivedincollege,in2006,textingandsocialmediahadbeguntoconqueremail.

Whensomethinghappenstome,Ivealreadytoldeveryoneover16differentmodesofcommunication,shesaid.

Yetevenmembersoftheoldergenerationhavecurbedtheirlongemailoutput.AmongusAARPers,emailshavegottenmuchshorterbut,ifanything,morenumerous:confirmations,cancellations,etc.,saidDanielMenaker,73,awriterandlongtimebookeditorandpublisherwhohasalsoworkedonTheNewYorkerseditorialstaff,albeitinanemaillesserabeforeMs.Allenstime.(Basedhowmanypersonalemailsshedeletedmorethan31,000HillaryClintonmayagreewithhisassessmentonquantity.)

Peopleofmyagetendtousethephone,reflexively,morethanyoungerpeopledo,hecontinued.Itshabit.Mykidswillrespondtoatext

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soonerthananemailandbothofthosemuchsoonerthanaphonemessage.

Whenyoungerpeopledocomposeemails,ittendstobeonatinykeyboard,witherrorproneautocorrect,loweringliterarystandards.ItsnotoftenImsittingatmycomputerresponding,Ms.Allensaid.

Insteadofeasingintoadeskchairtowritealongletteratacomputer,wevegrownaccustomedtotheinstantlygratifying,choppyburstsoftexting(frequentlywhilewalkingordictatingintothephone)andinstantmessaging.

AsNicholasCarrhasarguedinhisbookTheShallows,smartphonesandtheInternethaveharmedourabilitytosustainattention,atheoryMr.Freemanseconds.

Withthesmartphone,youretogglingbetweensomanyapplications,Mr.Freemansaid.Ifyoujustbackup30,40yearsandthinkaboutapersonatadeskwithatypewriterandaphonethatdoesntringthatoftenandmailthatcomesintwiceaday,therearesomanyformsofdistractionnow.Peoplearebecomingmorereactive,andwithinthatcontext,theconcentrationrequiredtowritealonger,thoughtfulemailisntaround.

Itwaseasierevenattheturnofthe21stcentury,whentheInternetwasprimarilytextbasedaboutthebestaudiovisualentertainmentyoucouldhopeforwasa3Drenderedanimationofadancingbaby.TabbedbrowsingdidntbecomeafunctionoftheMozillabrowseruntil2002,andofInternetExploreronlyin2005.Beforethen,runningmorethanoneappsimultaneouslyrequiredopeningadditionalwindows,whicharelessdisruptivethananarrayofenticingtabsatthetopofthescreen.

Now,hungertohearfromotherscanoftenbesatedbybiteandbytesizeportionsofathousanddifferentpetitsfoursfromacquaintancesstatusupdates,ratherthanemailsintimatecandlelitdinnerfortwo.AsMs.Allensaid,Ifyouhavethecuriositytogetthevagueoutlinesofwhatafriendhasbeendoing,youcandoitbyperusingFacebook.

7/11/2015 A Eulogy for the Long, Intimate Email - The New York Times

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(AftertheSonyhacklastyear,manypeoplepointedoutthattheirownemailsnolongercontaindeeplypersonalinformationwhatsmostincriminatingistheirGooglesearchhistory.)

Thenewestgenerationmaybeevenmoreaversetoemail.IhaveanephewinEnglandwhos12,andIaskedforhisemailaddress,andhesaidhedidnthaveonebutwecouldtalkonViber,Mr.Freemansaid,referringtoanappthatletsusersmakefreephonecallsandsendfreetexts.Hescompletelyleapfroggedoverpassingmessagesbackandforth.Theresarealshameinthatbecausetherearesomethingsthatcanonlybeexpressedinsomethingreflectiveandlengthy.

Butevenbriefer,oldfashionedcorrespondencewithhisyoungerrelativeshasprovedtrying.

Isendpostcardstomynieceandnephew,Mr.Freemansaid.Theyneverwriteback.

TeddyWayneistheauthorofthenovelsTheLoveSongofJonnyValentineandKapitoil.FutureTenseappearsmonthly.

AversionofthisarticleappearsinprintonJuly12,2015,onpageST2oftheNationaleditionwiththeheadline:TheLongEmailSignsOff.

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