Exactly 20-years ago this month we got our first email address. We were entering freshman year of college. Along with a student identification card we received an email account.
The World Wide Web was a Wild West frontier at the time. No one quite knew where it would take us. Perhaps no one still knows its ultimate destination.
But one thing is abundantly clear. Email has become a ball and chain that makes professional life practically unbearable. Along with the advent of the smart phone there’s no escaping round the clock demands these days.
Indeed, like the first generation to have their lives interrupted by the advent of the clock, we’ve come to disdain email. We recall the freedom of life prior to its existence…when there was a clear separation from being on the clock and being off the clock. This, of course, is the downside of progress.
In retrospect, instant communication and connection comes with a price. Namely one’s time, freedom, and privacy. Continue reading
