Many people say that e-mail is just a faster way to deliver letters. The fact is that letter writing and e-mail are completely different processes. Handwritten or typed, letters travel in envelopes through actual space and take time getting from one place to another. 41 If I am writing on paper to my brother in Kenya, I will be less likely to complain about the breakfast I had this morning. I will probably write about my relationships and some things that I’ve been thinking about. 42 People tend to regard letters as important. My brother might save my letter; he might read it back to me years from now.
43 It is instant, traveling from point to point. If you don’t print it out, the message doesn’t physically exist. With e-mail, geography is no obstacle and time is not important. 44 The ease of this kind of writing and sending probably makes for a different kind of communication. I can complain about the breakfast I had this morning or rattle on about friends and movies. That is because I am not so focused on style and profundity. 45 My brother might glance at my mail, have a laugh, and then delete it.
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