Thursday, August 28, 2008

You are putting yourself at risk.

This AOL survey has given us a lot of fodder for comment and humor. But there is one statistic that has nothing funny about it.

50% of the respondents admitted to checking their e-mail while driving, up from 37% last year. This is insipid. This is ridiculous. This is downright stupid. I'm sorry - - I can not use strong enough words.

Having been born and bred in the insurance business, I am very well tuned in to the pain automobile accidents can cause. People are driving two ton killing machines, and need to focus on the act of driving, not who has e-mailed or texted them.

At last count, five states have outlawed people talking on cell phones while driving. Kudos to them. But as my father always said, "you can't legislate common sense."

If one out of every two people has admitted to checking e-mail while driving, my hope is that you were the one who didn't.

For the full survey, visit http://www.crazyforemail.com

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Does the big guy in the sky use e-mail?

AOL's e-mail addiction survey had a very interesting statistic. 15% of the respondents admitted to checking e-mail in church, up from 12% last year. Now, I haven't heard any reports of divine e-mails being sent, so whose e-mail message could be more important?

For the full survey visit http://www.crazyforemail.com

Thursday, August 21, 2008

So who is more important, your date or your e-mail?

I'm having trouble getting off of this latest AOL e-mail addiction survey..

25%, or one out of four people who responded to the survey, admitted to checking their e-mail while they were on a date. Yes, you are thinking what I'm thinking... Either these people are not dating people they really want to date, or they won't be soon. 'Nuff said. What do you think?

For the full survey visit http://www.crazyforemail.com

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Is checking e-mail during business meetings career suicide?

AOL's recent study has affirmed to me a lot of what I've suspected. 38% of the people in the survey have checked their e-mail in a business meeting. This does not mean when they are waiting for the meeting to begin, it means during the meeting.
What could these people be thinking?
I saw another study recently where top executives were surveyed regarding their opinions of people who use their blackberries or PDAs during a business meeting. A full third of them considered it to be unacceptable. So if one out of three top executives considers checking the Blackberry as inappropriate, and 38% of the survey admitted to doing it, it looks like some careers could be in jeopardy!

For the full survey visit http://www.crazyforemail.com/.


Thursday, August 14, 2008

AOL Email Addiction Survey is Frightening!

I am troubled by the findings of AOL’s recent email addiction survey. While almost all US citizens check their email frequently, this new research shows that a significant percentage of the population is addicted to email – and in more egregious ways than ever before.

The results of this survey are disturbing. When 67 percent of the survey participants admit to checking their email while they’re in their pajamas in bed, what does that say about the state of our email habits?

And that’s not even the most shocking statistic. Fifty-nine percent of those surveyed admitted to checking their email in the bathroom – and if that’s not proof that our work/life balances are out of whack, I'm not sure what is.

The constant connectivity that email and PDAs provide means that people are becoming less and less capable of setting technology aside to focus on other things in life.I've seen people checking their email everywhere – I’ve even seen someone checking their BlackBerry during a funeral.

What we really need to do is learn productive email habits. Because technology is so pervasive, it becomes nearly impossible to avoid – and the more access we have, the more often we choose to use it. I can only hope that the people who see this survey will realize the extent that email has invaded their balance, and that they decide to take control of their lives.

To read the complete AOL Study, visit http://o.aolcdn.com/cdn.webmail.aol.com/survey/aol/en-us/index.htm.
Let us know what YOU think!