In
the fast paced 21st century, etiquette is absolutely not
old-fashioned. Regardless of how the
message is sent, it is always necessary to be polite at all times. I disagreed with Lisa Jardine’s podcast
“Email Etiquette” because she makes the argument that letters are better
because they show more emotion. First of
all, like it or not, letter writing it “out” and e-mail is “in.” According to a CNET news article, a 17 year
old was sending out a college application and forgot how to address an
envelope. She’s not stupid, it’s just
not important enough for everyone to remember anymore! That’s the reason (unfortunately) that the
Postal Service is going out of business!
I don’t think that e-mails are any worse than letters in
terms of communicating emotion. If
anything, I would argue that letters are actually worse at doing it – we have
italics and bold in e-mail, at the very least.
I don’t think that either way is particularly effective to communicate
emotion, but if I had to choose one, I’d definitely pick e-mail. Lisa Jardine argued that people send off
e-mails without a second thought, and then proceeded to give us an example of
how letters are often written hastily.
What’s the difference? I don’t
see one.
I would also like to note that no one is trying to argue
that e-mails are the same thing as letters, and I feel as though Jardine is
trying to fight that point – who made it?
Who accused e-mails of being the exact same thing as letters? No one did, people have instead just made the
simpler choice and as times change, so will etiquette in general. Perhaps it is customary to read over a letter
before sending it, and I would say the same is true for e-mails. In both cases, people either choose or choose
not to do it – this wouldn’t change if everyone started hand-writing their
notes back and forth.
This CNET article references Emily Post, and what her
thoughts would be on e-mail if it were in use when she was alive. Her great-granddaughter assures us that she
would use it, although she would continue to respond to letters that were
written to her. I agree with this
article’s etiquette. You should respond
in a way that is most convenient for the recipient – and that is what’s
polite. I do still agree that in some
cases a handwritten better seems more thoughtful, such as a thank you note, but
I imagine that someday my children will e-mail their thank you notes to
relatives, just because that’s how times will change.
I don’t ever think the world will become too ‘futurized’
for etiquette, but I do think that etiquette will change drastically as
technology does. It’s not ruder to send
an e-mail to an audience that expects an e-mail, it’s just realistic. I wouldn’t suggest ignoring handwritten notes
altogether just yet, but I do believe that they will soon become a thing of the
past!
Olson,
Stefanie, and Sabena Suri. "Say so Long to Traditional Letter
Writing." CNET News. CBS Interactive, 24 Aug. 2007. Web. 21 Mar.
2012.
<http://news.cnet.com/Say-so-long-to-traditional-letter-writing/2009-1025_3-6204248.html>.
I actually used the same artlicle as you did from CNET News, but I went a differnent way with it. In my blog I said that letters were a more sentimental way of communicating.However, after reading your blog I looked at the situation differently.I agree with what you said about etiquette changing with the times. There is e-mail ettiquette just as there is ettiquette in letters.Good blog.
ReplyDeleteI do agree with you that letters will "become a thing of the past." But I also feel that people will continue to write letters to others. Also, if someone sends you a letter I feel that it is polite to send one in return. And the same goes for an email.
ReplyDeleteI believe that although letters may in fact become outdated, there will be some use of it. Many believe it is more authentic to do a letter but unfortunately it is time consuming. In this fast paced society we dont have time to wait around for a letter and unfortunately it has caused those who write letters to stop doing so as much. I would prefer sending letters to a friend versus email because it is more personal.
ReplyDeleteMaeve, I really like your argument regarding are ability to manipulate font in emails. Such as bolding, italicizing, etc. If we were to attempt to do this with our hands, it would make for a rather sloppy letter. Since we are talking about etiquette, a sloppy letter most likely isn't what we are aiming for. I believe letters still have their place in our society, but I most certainly understand your ideas and your point of view.
ReplyDeleteI agree that email's are just as effective, actually more effective than writing letters. Also, it allows us to respond and to react to things in a timely fashion. Letters definitely still have their place in society, as I believe they always will. But until then, etiquette is extremely important in emails and in letters both. Great artile!!
ReplyDeleteI like how you play devil's advocate to the podcast and how you present your own thoughts. I agree that it is not the email that is causing us to use poor etiquette, it is the email writers. I think there should be more education when kids are growing up on how to and not to use email.
ReplyDelete