One of the latest reported travel additions is not liquor or drugs but e-mail, according to several reports.
Experts estimate there are 190 million e-mail users worldwide, and some reports say that 6 % of them could have some form of e-mail addiction — that’s roughly 11 million e-mail junkies.
“Fifty-three percent of the population does it in the bathroom, 37% have done it while driving and 12% even have done it in church. For 43%, it’s on their minds as soon as they wake up,” said USA Today.
Paul Dietzler with Omni Hotels told USA Today that demand for Internet service is skyrocketing. He said about 40% of Omni guests use in-room internet, a level he said he didn’t expect for several more years.
For the last three years, AOL has conducted what it calls its E-mail Addiction Survey, and it shows that Americans are checking their e-mail around the clock—whatever it takes.
Regina Lewis, an America online consumer adviser, offered some tips on “Good Morning America” on how to break an e-mail addiction:
—Set a virtual start time and curfew. Don’t get online first thing in the morning or last thing at night.
—Remember the rule of three. If something takes more than three e-mail exchanges, pick up the phone.
—Don’t over reply. You don’t need to send those short, one-word replies, such as “thanks” or “yes.”
—Store, don’t hoard. People keep way too many old e-mails in their inbox and waste a lot of time scrolling through them all, says Lewis. Create folders to store important messages.
—If all else fails, try going cold turkey. Take a weekend off; you might be surprised to find the world doesn’t fall apart if you don’t check your messages.
Report by David Wilkening
