Email

Email is the biggest evolutionary advance in communication in modern history. Ever since the internet first started, the way we communicate with each other changed. Instead of sitting down and writing a letter with pen and paper, we type it on the computer and send it via the internet and the receiver sees it when they sign online. Instead of calling someone on the phone, we can talk to them directly online via instant messaging, as if we were on the phone. But there are problems with emailing and instant messaging such as junk email and kids using the shortcuts they use online in their school papers.

The internet started 30 years ago as a tool for the U.S. military as a way to communicate if there was a nuclear attack. Now you can do just about anything online, find answers to any questions you might have about a certain topic, purchase goods, and even communicate. "Email is convenient, saves time, brings us closer to one another, and helps us manage our ever-more-complex lives." Leonard, A. (2000). We've Got Mail-Always (Pg.240, 4). In L. Behrens and L. J. Rosen Writing and Reading Across the Curriculum (9th Ed), 2005 (Pg. 240-244). Email is much more popular than traditional mail, and is seems that the only traditional mail you get are bills. But you can pay those bills online.

Another popular aspect of online communication is instant messaging, being able to talk directly to your friends online as if you were talking on the phone. This is in my opinion the second most popular form of communication in the world; email being the first. What makes it so popular is that you can talk to anyone online while watching TV., or doing homework and not have to apply as much concentration as you do when your on the phone. As much as this is positive form of communication, it does have its problems. Children who use instant messenger everyday start using the "lingo" in their everyday life. When talking online children use shortcuts and "chopped up" words to type faster, but these shortcuts are leaking into their school papers. Teachers are starting to notice it a lot more and are trying to break kids of this problem by taking points off if they use the shortcuts. "But teenagers, whose social life can rely as much these days on text communication as the spoken word, say that they use instant messaging shorthand without thinking about it." Lee, J. (2002). I Think, Therefore IM (Pg.253, 8). In L. Behrens