Email: messages distributed by an electronic means from one computer user to one or more recipients via a network. Email is the oldest and truly the essential communication method when dealing with the Internet. It is a simple idea: sending a message electronically, but it has dramatically changed the very face of the social and business worlds in the modern society.
Email is the original and most basic form of computer-mediated communication (CMC). According to lecture it is considered one-to-one asynchronous communication. That means that it is a message that goes to from one user to one other, to be viewed by one other at a time. Asynchronous refers to the fact that email communication does not occur in real time, as opposed to instant messaging. While it is possible to send one email to many recipients at once, it is still considered one-to-one in that each recipient receives it individually.
Email affects people each and every day. It is not only a part of the social life; it is now engrained in the business world. According to one study, employees at work at interrupted from their work every five minutes by an email (Mano, 62). This sort of quasi-constant communication can be very helpful in the business world. The fast exchange of information is essential for a company to survive. This was never more true than today. The lecture referred to the fact that attachments now can be put onto emails, which exponentially increases the amount of information that can be disseminated. One can send anything from pictures, voice, videos, graphics, and any sort of document as an attachment on an email according to the lecture. All of these things have also become essential in the business, and indeed the private/ social, world. The ability to communicate and share documents via email has reduced the need for many phone calls and made the fax machine all but extinct.
However with the massive benefits email provides, it does come with a down side. It has allowed hackers and thieves a new medium in which to cause problems. The lecture named problems such and viruses and identity theft as some of the major threats linked with email. Phishing is another scheme where an email is sent, which looks a lot like a reputable companies’ email, and asks for personal/account information. However, as email penetration continues to increase, these problems should decrease, as people are become more and more aware of these problems.
Computers in Human Behavior published an article that studied the effect that email has on work performance specifically in the work place. They considered a number of factors and came upon several conclusions. They found those larger organizations, the larger number of emails, the greater proportion of work-related emails, and the greater intensity of checking email. The also found that the more emails one gets, the more effective they are working, however their stress level increases. However it was found that work-related emails improve effectives but have a negligible effect on stress (Mano, 68).
Mano, Rita S. (2009, January). E-mail characteristics, work performance and distress. Computers in Human Behavior, 26, 61-69
(Journal accessed online via: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6VDC-4X9V2W5-1&_user=10&_coverDate=01%2F31%2F2010&_rdoc=8&_fmt=high&_orig=browse&_srch=doc-info(%23toc%235979%232010%23999739998%231557110%23FLA%23display%23Volume)&_cdi=5979&_sort=d&_docanchor=&_ct=13&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=150ce729c9c32047af87ca1bc6583b3f)
E-mail is a great way to communicate with work, school, family, and friends. I use e-mail every single day and know many others that are the same way. It is nice to receive updates at the beginning of the day or nice attachments like pictures. But it is terrifying to know that there are people out there though that use this device to suck in people and give them viruses and scam them. I think that is the only major problem with e-mail. This is because although people get sucked into many e-mails each day at work it is better to receive more knowledge through the work place, then not enough.
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I agree with the comment previously posted, I used my email specially my gmail account to communicate with professors, family, and even when stores ask for your email address to send out coupons or when sales are going on. On average I check my email about 3 to 4 times a day. Although I do limit the things that are said in my emails especially attachments. I become sketchy when I receive an email and the address is unknown and an attachment is attached to it. My family attaches pictures and it scares me to upload the picture because you are never sure who exactly can view that same picture.
ReplyDeleteWell I would definitely agree that email is an effective form of communication as I have to maintain a long distance relationship. It has come in handy many times!!! But, the one thing that irritates me about emails are junk mails. Everyday, my yahoo account is filled with thousands of junk mails that I am not even interested to open and read. But, I feel so uneasy to see my inbox flooded with thrash, so I have to waste time and delete 1 by 1, although there is the option of deleting all at once, I have to exercise precaution not to delete my important emails at the same time. When it comes to businessess, I agree that emails play a vital role in communication as people would not have to walk around to pass messages, so this saves time and therefore results in work getting done in a shorter period. emails have their pros and cons but it just depends on how each individual makes use of it.
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