E Mail A Blessing example essay topic
416 words
"Is e-mail a blessing or a curse?" That's the question Andrew Leonard asks in his article, "We " ve Got Mail-Always". Leonard begins his article by noting how people measure their "wired worth" by the amount of e-mails they receive. According to Leonard, it's well worth the hassle of deleting tons of junk mail just to receive a few meaningful e-mails, but e-mail also makes people's lives more complex. Andrew Leonard points out that when scientists first developed this technology, they were only trying to share research and make life easier. E-mail did make life easier. It became to many people, what Leonard calls a "Promethean gift", designed to help cope with the pressures of life. According to a survey by a Vanderbilt University professor, email is the number one reason most people give for using the Internet. Leonard goes on to say that e-mail is a powerful network that people can use in many ways. It allows people a way to be closer to the ones they love, despite physical boundaries. It is also a tool for the shy to find the one they love, as well as a "buffer" to toss around ideas in the office. In addition, e-mail allows millions of people to collaborate on projects or ideas. This, according to Leonard, "is more powerful than any corporations or government".
Although email can be a positive influence on social lives, as Leonard says, it can also have a dark side. It encourages a lack of self-constraint, allowing the exchange of pornography, as well as providing a channel for insults, illiteracy, and a lack of original thoughts. Leonard continues by describing how e-mail makes the line between work and play a gray area. While most businesses have "office hours", there is no set timeframe that email must be checked around. Leonard gives an example, describing his vacation in Australia. Instead of taking in the scenery, he proceeded to dial long distance and transfer to a telnet program just to check his e-mail.
As Leonard concludes, e-mail can demolish all physical boundaries. This nonexistence of boundaries can be a road to love or a simple way to say, "I love you" across the miles. It can also mean the end to such a thing as a vacation. In the words of Andrew Leonard, whether e-mail is a blessing or curse depends on the moment..
