In what ways do you communicate online?

Every time I open my phone or laptops, I automatically check two e-mail accounts, my work and my personal.

Then I have an i-cloud account that I just use for apps and sending photos.

I am a genx’r so I remember a time when the only way to communicate besides in person was our landline. I remember seeing a computer for the first time and not trusting it!

I did not send an e-mail until I was in my early 20’s and was working at Nordstroms. I got a promotion to department manager and started using a computer for e-mailing other stores looking for different sized clothing for customers.

At that time I bought my first computer. I made a ton of dumb mistakes online!

Today I use e-mail at work religiously. We use it for everything. I would say teachers and administration at schools probably use e-mail more than any other profession!

This year I have been practicing my skills at writing professional e-mails! Its been going well, I have only gad two gaffs, e-mails I wish I would have worded differently!

My personal e-mail, unfortunately is filled with junk! Stores telling me about sales trying to suck me in to online shopping! Which I admit, during the pandemic I became addicted to searching for deals online shopping! Now I have boxes of clothing I will never wear! I’m working on no more online shopping!

I search my personal for anything important. But do not communicate with many people on e-mail. I tend to call or text!

I have heard the younger generations don’t do e-mail at all! It’s funny because one of the self-advocacy skills we try to teach the students is to e-mail their teachers! Maybe we are going about it the wrong way? Maybe we should be texting instead? But that’s not safe because of the obvious, there would be no way to monitor the conversations and would leave kids and teachers vulnerable.

But if e-mail really is dead to the younger generations what will we do in the future?