'000 a Eulogy for the Long, Intimate Email - The New York Times
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http://nyti.ms/1fwMDDR STYLE A Eulogy for the Long, Intimate Email JULY 11, 2015 Future Tense By TEDDY WAYNE When I started college in 1997, I got my first email account, as did most of my peers. Over the next four years, I sent and received countless rambling letters to friends, both off and on campus, a habit that persisted for a decade or so after graduation. Now I can’t remember the last time I wrote or read an email of more than four or five meaty, intimate paragraphs. I can chalk up some of my letterwriting decline to my age and profession: I have a (somewhat) smaller appetite these days for Knausgaardian navelgazing, and expend more energy writing for work. My decreased reliance on personal email, however, may correspond with global trends. According to the Radicati Group, a technology marketing firm, business email users now send and receive an average of 122 messages per day, up from 110 in 2010. Sealing and opening all those virtual envelopes takes a toll: A 2012 report from McKinsey found that workers spent 28 percent of their day on email. While the numbers cannot account for how many emails are personal,
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Eulogy for the Long, Intimate Email
Transcript of '000 a Eulogy for the Long, Intimate Email - The New York Times
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7/11/2015 A Eulogy for the Long, Intimate Email - The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/12/style/a-eulogy-for-the-long-intimate-email.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=mini-moth®ion=top-st 1/5
http://nyti.ms/1fwMDDR
STYLE
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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7/11/2015 A Eulogy for the Long, Intimate Email - The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/12/style/a-eulogy-for-the-long-intimate-email.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=mini-moth®ion=top-st 2/5
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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7/11/2015 A Eulogy for the Long, Intimate Email - The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/12/style/a-eulogy-for-the-long-intimate-email.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=mini-moth®ion=top-st 3/5
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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7/11/2015 A Eulogy for the Long, Intimate Email - The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/12/style/a-eulogy-for-the-long-intimate-email.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=mini-moth®ion=top-st 4/5
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.
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7/11/2015 A Eulogy for the Long, Intimate Email - The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/12/style/a-eulogy-for-the-long-intimate-email.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=mini-moth®ion=top-st 5/5
(AftertheSonyhacklastyear,manypeoplepointedoutthattheirownemailsnolongercontaindeeplypersonalinformationwhatsmostincriminatingistheirGooglesearchhistory.)
Thenewestgenerationmaybeevenmoreaversetoemail.IhaveanephewinEnglandwhos12,andIaskedforhisemailaddress,andhesaidhedidnthaveonebutwecouldtalkonViber,Mr.Freemansaid,referringtoanappthatletsusersmakefreephonecallsandsendfreetexts.Hescompletelyleapfroggedoverpassingmessagesbackandforth.Theresarealshameinthatbecausetherearesomethingsthatcanonlybeexpressedinsomethingreflectiveandlengthy.
Butevenbriefer,oldfashionedcorrespondencewithhisyoungerrelativeshasprovedtrying.
Isendpostcardstomynieceandnephew,Mr.Freemansaid.Theyneverwriteback.
TeddyWayneistheauthorofthenovelsTheLoveSongofJonnyValentineandKapitoil.FutureTenseappearsmonthly.
AversionofthisarticleappearsinprintonJuly12,2015,onpageST2oftheNationaleditionwiththeheadline:TheLongEmailSignsOff.
2015TheNewYorkTimesCompany
