October 2, 2006
E-Mail is for Old People
College officials around the country find that a growing number of students are missing important messages about deadlines, class cancellations, and events sent to them by e-mail because, well, the messages are sent to them by e-mail.
In response, some institutions require that students check their college e-mail accounts so they do not miss announcements, holding students responsible for official information that comes through that medium. Other institutions are attempting to figure out what technology students are using to try to reach them there.
A 2005 report from the Pew Internet and American Life Project called “Teens and Technology” found that teenagers preferred new technology, like instant messaging or text messaging, for talking to friends and use e-mail to communicate with “old people.” Along the same lines, students interviewed by The Chronicle say they still depend on e-mail to communicate with their professors. But many of the students say they would rather send text messages to friends, to reach them wherever they are, than send e-mail messages that might not be seen until hours later. See The Chronicle’s full story.
Posted on Monday October 2, 2006 | Permalink |Comments
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How stupid to text when a phone has voice, hands free head set. But you would rather type on those little keys
— Joe Oct 2, 10:38 PM #
I would rather receive or send a text message via phone when on a bus, in a restaurant, or any other public place where yapping on a cell phone would be rude. that said, text messages are nothing but email for cell phones, and many phones are bringing email TO the phone, so its not so much the medium but the means one uses to access the data.
— charles Oct 3, 02:43 AM #
With mass mobile messaging now easier to do than ever, and with nearly every student on a college campus carrying a cell phone, it may be time for colleges and universities to look into mobile messaging to students regarding events, cancellations, etc. While there is still much to be determined regarding fee structures for mass text messaging, students may appreciate the relevant touchpoint their university has with them, and administrators will know that they are providing their students with relevant, up-to-date information…in a student-friendly, up-to-date way.
— Becky Prosser, Ripple Effects Interactive Oct 3, 04:23 PM #
Silly article – Incomplete!
Shows priviledged vs poverty choices & attitudes. When “broadcasting” among many various meida elements, an “either-or” choice should not be the only consideration. Overextent of “outreach by elite seervice providers needs corrective balance with students required to also have reponsibilities in communiques with higher level consciousness.
Various strategies in distributed systems & multi-media in information-rich “societies” can be “smartly” chosen to the advantage of all in “virtual communities”.
The stunning lack of ISO 9000 Excellence Councils @ BOTH the University Boards & the Student Governements show that there is still a childish attitude present by all 3 parties involved – the other being the Media doing the reporting on the snobbish, neglectful
& self-serving “situation”.
— Frank Wright Oct 3, 07:25 PM #
Hmmm… my experience is more that students don’t check their institutional email all that often. They almost always start university with a Gmail or Hotmail account, and don’t bother with their university account. (The solution is to forward the university accounts, but they always seem to want students to do that themselves, and I suspect of all the starting university chores it just comes out as unimportant.)
Most IM accounts, if you have an associated email address (eg Hotmail accounts and MSN, Gmail and Google Talk), do in fact notify you every time you get a new email, email is quite integrated into the experience.
— Mary Oct 6, 01:06 AM #