Quoted in 1991 sociology paper on email…
From: jcrabtree@desire.wright.edu
Newsgroups: soc.net-people,soc.college
Subject: sociology paper, here it is
Message-ID: <1991nov20 .182034.590@desire.wright.edu>
Date: 20 Nov 91 23:20:33 GMT
Organization: Wright State University
Lines: 114
Hello again everyone,
Here is the sociology paper I wrote concerning the sociology of email.
This is a general education sociology class here at Wright State University,
so it may not be as big a project as some might have thought.
Also, the messages I used are 8 of the first 9 or 10 messages that
came in. I should be getting to those individual replies REAL soon. Thanks
for the interest, and here goes: [note: any spelling errors are typos here
and were spelled correctly in the actual paper.]
——————————–CUT-HERE—————————————
_The_Social_Impact_of_Email_
Electronic mail, referred to as email, is an emerging social force.
Computers have been around for half a century, networks for nearly as long.
Only now is email becoming a significant part of corporate and academic life.
Networks such as Internet, Bitnet, and Usenet reach out to every corner of the
globe. Universities, always believers in the free exchange of ideas, are at
the forefront of this revolution. What better way than through email?
However, email is not without its social consequences, both positive and
negative.
Email can help people form new and lasting friendships. In my own
experience, I met a young woman this spring on the VAX network here at Wright
State. We converse often through email, but have only met three times in
person. Those meetings occuring only after she realized she had no idea what
I looked like and became worried about what kind of person I might be.
Stephanie Wukovitz
because of … email.”
After high school, many friend fall out of touch because of the
distance, time, and cost involved in keeping long distance contact. Email can
and has begun to alter that. At least two of my friends keep in contact with
high school friends who attend other universities. As a result of my
discussions with fellow users around the country, I have a chance to renew a
friendship with an old friend of mine now attending Amherst College in
Massachusetts. Anthony Wright
at Amherst College in which each student’s room is equipped with a
VAX-connected terminal. He describes it as “a central social medium.”
One interesting aspect of personal conversation through email is that
people tend to be more forward. There is a barrier of distance even in the
same room that allows conversational topics to flow more freely. Users can
make jokes they would never dream of telling face to face. Lawrence D. Matson
“reduced responsibility for forward actions” stemming from the physical
security of email. Also, subjects difficult to introduce in open conversation
can be discussed more readily. Thomas Van Ness Leavitt
suggests this results from from email’s ability to combine the “function of a
letter … with the convenience of a phone call.” The sender can think out
what they want to say, while they can communicate almost as quickly as if on
the telephone. Further, email removes the “immediacy” of a telephone
conversation, and people can reply at their leisure.
Email conversations are also forming a labguage subgroup made up
largely by abbreviations. Terms such as IMHO (in my humble/holy opinion) and
TNG ([Star Trek:] The Next Generation) pervade discussions often to the point
that someone unfamiliar with them could not even understand the basic concepts
of the message texts. Dave Thomson
from Orwell’s _1984_ to suggest the term “mailspeak” to describe the
specialized terminology.
Perhaps the largest influencer of behavior patterns is the convenience
of some product or service. Email is probably one of the most convenient
systems in use today for what it is capable of doing. Communication speed is
increased by almost immesurable amounts. Imagine a letter arriving in seconds
rather than days or even weeks. ‘Phone tag’ is eliminated by the inherent
messaging service of email. A message is sent and it sits patiently waiting
untiol the receiver logs in again. Instantly, its entire content is delivered
ready to read as if just sent. Also, as David Mann
Not all of the social consequences are good. Email conversations are,
by their very nature, impersonal. Basic to all social development is human
contact. Communication through computers diminishes that contact. Some may
go so far as to say that it transforms us into ‘computer nerds.’ Dave Thomson
sense of community…, preferring to…” email people rather than speak to
them. The reduced face to face contact could lead to a breakdown of trust in
the business industry, for example. The practice of shaking hands, human
physical contact, to close a deal ios leaving.
Whether the social revolution being wrought by the use of email is
good or bad is a discussion better left to philosophers and people with a lot
of time on their hands. Whatever the verdict, this technology is here to stay
and is growing. It is up to us to find out what part of our lives it will
encompass and how it will alter our social outlook. This will determine
whether we can move forward, embracing the future, or remain locked in the
past, hiding from the rest of the world. For me, email has facilitated my
social interaction by providing a refernece. It has also increased the range
of intellectual avenues available to me. I could even ask people as far away
as California about their views on the sociological aspects of email.
This paper was written based on email messages from the following:
Bruce Saunders
Stephanie Wukovitz
David Mann
Dave Thomson
Thomas Van Ness Leavitt
Anthony Wright
Lawrence D. Matson
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| Jason D. Crabtree | “Three is five and five is ten? Hey, |
| Human Factors Engineering | I’ve got fifteen bucks here.” |
| Wright State University | - Kevin Metz |
| jcrabtree@desire.wright.edu | ex-Mathematician |
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| “Love is all around you. Love is knocking outside your door.” |
| - Tesla |
| “I don’t believe in love. It’s never worth the pain that you feel.” |
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