Borderless

Electronic messaging is a wonderful invention. In the matter of seconds—not even minutes—we can send the written word to people not just across the country but across the globe! You can talk to your doctor, your grandparents, or your former roommate without ever having to see them or even hear their voice. There is not just one form of electronic messaging, either. From e-mail to chat to WhatsApp to text messaging, the possibilities are endless. And the ways in which the electronic messages can reach you are evolving every day. Whether you’re on your phone, tablet, or computer, these messages can reach you anywhere, at any time, no matter what you are doing…and that is exactly the problem.

You see, electronic messaging has become the bane of my existence—and little do you realize it, it has probably become the bane of your existence, too.

Let’s look at the influence that electronic messaging has had on society. This modern marvel has had many positive effects, I will admit. It has brought together people who would have otherwise had no contact with each other, it has allowed people to stay in contact when life has tried to rip them apart, and it has reunited those who have lost contact with each other after many, many years. Sometimes, these effects can have negative consequences like something out of an episode of Law and Order, but often, they lead to happier lives. Electronic messaging has, admittedly, brought the world together. It has also allowed for such things as remote working—which I have benefited from—but there are negative effects as well, namely: no boundaries.

One might think that a lack of boundaries could be a good thing. After all, boundaries separate us, keep us from being personal with each other and keep us on our guard. However, we need boundaries. Case in point: the separation of work and home.

Being able to work remotely is a good thing. During times such as the pandemic or when you live in the middle of nowhere (like I do), it might even be necessary. Yet there must be boundaries. People must be able to have a social life and home life that is separate from their work lives. This might sound easy enough to do, but in a world where electronic messaging is on all of our devices, it is almost impossible to maintain this balance. Our bosses can reach us any time, anywhere, and—even worse—they can often see when we have read the messages and have chosen not to reply. Even if you do not work remotely, this lack of division between work life and home life due to electronic messaging is increasingly becoming a problem.

On top of the issue with the sender increasingly more often being able to see if the receiver has seen the message, societal rules are changing so that the receiver will actually feel guilty for not answering immediately. Even if it’s just a day after the message was sent, we feel as though we are bad people for not answering whoever sent the message right away—doubly so if that person was our manager or boss. The same guilt cannot be found with not answering an old-fashioned letter immediately.

Electronic messaging is the next best thing to being able to send messages to each other’s minds. Unfortunately, that’s the problem. They are instant and hard to ignore, causing us to need to answer them immediately. This attitude towards electronic messaging causes a breakdown of boundaries, leaking work into home and social life. To say that someday we will be without a border between work and personal life is not true…we are already there.