Is Instant Messaging A Curse?
from the the-downsides-of-IM dept
A somewhat amusing article pointing out the downsides of everyone’s favorite technology of the day: instant messaging. The writer hits the nail on the head. While I am completely and totally addicted to instant messaging there are just some times that I just don’t want to be chatting away – and, let’s face it – some people that I’d just rather not chat with at that moment. The author of the article points out some of the progressively ridiculous excuses he had to start coming up with to keep people from chatting with him. At times an instant messaging avalanche can be overwhelming, and it’s somewhat difficult to hide from people. When I get busy (or just am not feeling particularly chatty) I logout of my IM programs, but then sometimes I get calls from people who are upset (or even worried) that I’m not online. It’s scary how crucial some people consider IM to be as part of their lives.
Comments on “Is Instant Messaging A Curse?”
hi
i agree.. i cant even finish this post because i just got an IM..
PS: this site is nice.. but you need a NEW logo and much better icons for the stories.. and your audience will grow by leaps and bounds.
think about it .. and ICQ sucks
Not a problem
Uh — just don’t reply to your IMs if you’re busy or don’t want to chat. IM is sort of half way between email and phoning in this respect. You have to decide whether to accept a call while the phone is ringing Right Now, but you can leave IMs on your screen for hours before getting back to them.
It has been my observation
Is IM a curse? For me it is. It has been my observation that IM is popular with people who like to fill the silence, chatterboxes who constantly interupt my work with matters of little importance. Yes, I can ignore an incoming message, but they can send me a regular email as well.
Make it clear
My solution when ICQ at work (and home) got too intrusive was to let the people (the ones I wanted to keep on my list that is) know in firm ways that while they could send all the messages they wanted online but that if I didn’t reply right away (or at all) it was because I was busy working or talking to my boss or something…
Most people are usually ok with that. Those that aren’t are on my list alright, my IGNORE list.
i can't live without my IM
So i’m pretty addicted to IM.. i’ve hit the “friend limit” on my Yahoo! IM, so for those of you fortunate enough to make it on my exclusive friend list, consider yourself lucky. 🙂 IM is great for quick little conversations.. email feels so heavy for those.. instead of sending the one word “Yes.” or “No.” emails, IM is sooo nice. it’s also nice to chat with people when you’re on a boring conference call. one of my friends complained that i didn’t reply quick enough yesterday — 3 minutes had elapsed. sheesh.
Actually.. if you read my post, you can see what IM has done to me. I can only think in short bursts. Long, sustained trains of thought are no longer possible. Ack!
Re: Ha!
If you think it’s a curse… first try online dating, then give out your screenname to those people. Yikes, it’s all fine and dandy until you decide you aren’t interested anymore, and they keep pestering and pestering and pestering you.
Of course that’s why you should have multiple aliases to at least separate out the real friends from the mix.
msykes