I can't put my finger on why, but I cringe whenever I open my e-mail.  I'm not sure why I react this way.  I rarely check my non-work e-mail, and when I do, I never look forward to seeing how many e-mails I have in my inbox.  Sometimes when I have to send an email, I sign-in, quickly click "compose" without looking at my inbox, write as brief an e-mail as possible, hit "send", and logoff as quickly as possible.

I remember a time long, long ago when I had AOL email, I used to love hearing that wonderful, grammatically incorrect voice say, "You've got mail!"  Whenever I didn't hear it, I would die a little inside.  But that was many, many spams ago.

I don't think it's because I get a lot of spam, though.  Because I don't get nearly as much as I used to and deleting them is a relatively painless task.  And you can tell spam right away because of the subject line, so I don't think that's it.

I don't think it's because I get a flood of e-mails that I have to reply to.  I get maybe one or two e-mails a day in my personal e-mail... not like at work where e-mail is used like instant messaging...

Co-worker:     Subj: Lunch plans          - Hey, what are you doing for lunch?
Me:                 Subj: Re: Lunch plans   - I'm probably just going to fix a sandwich.
Co-worker:     Subj: Re: Lunch plans   - What kind?
Me:                 Subj: Re: Lunch plans   - Turkey and swiss.
Co-worker:     Subj: Re: Lunch plans   - Let me ask what others are doing
Co-worker:     Subj: Fwd: Re: Lunch plans       - Anyone going out to get something for lunch?
Co-worker2:   Subj: Re: Fwd: Re: Lunch plans - I’m going to the deli, want anything?
Co-worker:     Subj: Re: Fwd: Re: Lunch plans - Ooh, yeah, get me a cold-cut combo.
Co-worker2:   Subj: Re: Fwd: Re: Lunch plans - Ok
Co-worker:     Subj: Re: Fwd: Re: Lunch plans - Okay
Me:                 Subj: Re: Fwd: Re: Lunch plans - Guys, do we have to do this over email? Our offices are right next to each other…

BTW, I think it's hilarious that somewhere on our e-mail servers backup hard drives there are countless e-mails like this saved for decades to come.

Maybe it's because e-mail has gotten so impersonal.  Maybe it's because it's just become a way for people to task other people to do stuff that they don't want to do themselves.  Maybe I'm just yearning for a simpler life where people actually talk to you face-to-face, and things don't have to get done RIGHT NOW, and being on facebook or tweeting or sending off a mass e-mail does not equate to social interaction.

Am I alone in feeling this way about e-mail?  Is it a personality thing?