Computer friends and foes: Content of undergraduates' electronic mail

For the most part, electronic mail served a purely social function, with over one fourth containing highly intimate content and unexpectedly little showing signs of "flaming" or hostility and social inappropriateness.

Abstract

Less than half of undergraduates' electronic mail addressed work-related concerns. For the most part, electronic mail served a purely social function, with over one fourth containing highly intimate content and unexpectedly little showing signs of "flaming" or hostility and social inappropriateness. Students appeared to transmit mail largely to encourage one another academically and personally. Content of electronic mail was systematically related to periods within the academic calendar. The most frequently cited reason for failing to use electronic mail was the inability to perceive the practicality of computer-mediated communication. Self-reported experiences with electronic mail varied minimally as a function of sex and moderately as a function of grade point average in computer science courses.