Knocking email as sensationalism

I've noticed an interesting trend. Several business-advice books I've read lately have made a point of suggesting, sometimes pretty strongly, that to improve productivity, we should all steer clear of using email so much. Don't ever check it first thing in the morning! says one book. Try to use "social networking sites" instead! says another. Other books have emphasized what a time-waster email can be.

Personally, I disagree. I should qualify this right away by saying that this may be because I'm unusual in that I've always been careful in how I handle email. I think I was aware since way back in the misty, distant days of my Internet use, about 12 years ago, that the Internet in general, and email in particular, are powerful and potentially dangerous, and I've always treated them with respect. I've always done everything possible to avoid spam, avoided mailing lists, and discouraged unnecessarily chatty email correspondence, to name a few examples. I've never made it my life, as some people seem to, but pretty much have always been the boss of it.

Also, I'm pretty conscious of how I use my time in general, and so not susceptible to being randomly distracted by the receipt of emails during my work time.

So email has never gotten the best of me. It's never wasted my time or distracted me from more important work, and I don't believe I've ever used it thoughtlessly in such a way as to detract from a business relationship.

And I question the email-avoidance advice that seems to be common these days, because it seems to me that the problem isn't the tool, but how it's used. Email still seems to me to be an excellent means for certain types of communcation, used with care.

Actually, I suspect that those authors gave that advice partly just for the shock value. What a radical thing to say! Can it be true? People read it, and then pass on the revolutionary concept to their friends, providing lots of buzz-marketing for the book.