There are other benefits. It seems these new forms of communication have filled a gap, offering something that face to face conversation does not. After research into how people use new technology, psychologist Professor Pam Briggs, of the University of Northumbria, believes people have embraced them because they offer a chance to present yourself the way that you want to and be a bit more playful. Some say workplace email depersonalises and can aggravate relationships between colleagues. The trouble is, this does not fit well with the way people use it.
People seem to really enjoy text messaging and emailing their friends and colleagues.
They can take their time shaping their message and play with it more, pasting in jokes and little bits of video clips and so on. That is partly because you can choose when you want to respond to someone. It's a new form of communication that is fundamentally different from anything you can have face to face. The fact email and text messaging are both short and quick is a big part of the attraction. Many people find them more informal than making a phone call or writing a letter, and so simpler to use.