The title of this post might come as a shock to a lot of people because who on this Earth prefers email communication over something as instant as an IM service such as WhatsApp?

I have always disliked IM services ever since I started using WhatsApp years ago. There is a sense of urgency when it comes to using IM services which I do not like, every message that comes in feels as if it has to be attended to immediately and to me this creates a false expectation and reduces one's ability to prioritize what is important versus what is not.

I like to think of a digital solution to something as a virtual reflection of something that occurs in the physical world. Imagine you have 30 chats from different people and everyone wants your attention and everyone is blowing up your phone for something, this kind of thing cannot happen in the real world as it is impossible to split your attention across 30 different people and provide a valuable answer immediately.

You need the necessary time to respond and provide the best feedback possible without reducing the quality of what is being communicated. You need that sense of pause so that you feel free to respond when you can.

To me, email is perfect for creating that sense of pause as it adheres to a more traditional style of communication because it is analogous to a physical letter or post mail. There are no read receipts so you cannot know whether people have read it or not so you have to detach yourself from whether someone has seen it or not and if they do not respond you have to let that insecurity go. You are writing into a black hole without ever knowing whether someone will get back to you or not and that is okay whereas in the IM world, you are expected to respond within a millisecond of receiving a message from someone and this leads to more emotional problems being created.

I do not like the anxiety and frustration that comes with IM services. No one should ever feel entitled to a response, there is also an aspect of ego in this but it is good to create healthy communication boundaries for yourself and to enforce those boundaries with people.