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April 17, 2007

Inbox problems? Pop a Prozac

Robert Wright [no relation] of the New York Times, has this interesting, if bizarre theory that there is a correlation between e-mail and Prozac, in that the more of each there is, the more there will be of the other. Robert [actually, we're glad he isn't a relative] theorises that the issues created by e-mail - did someone not reply because your social status doesn't warrant a response? - are best handled with serotonin, the Prozac ingredient that compensates for problems of social heirarcy.

Hence the Prozac temptation: Just open that serotonin throttle and cruise through your in-box, unhampered by fancied slights, groundless anxieties and other impediments to bliss. (Your mileage may vary.) And, bliss aside: Imagine the efficiency! With the time you don’t spend worrying about Joe, you can crank out e-mail to Jim, Sally and Sue. And efficiency is what e-mail is about, right? By ending the need to coordinate schedules, it lets us interact with lots of people — and interact along such narrow channels that we skip the bother of getting to know an entire human being.

We hardly dare inquire, but ... do you by any chance find yourself depressed because of the contents, or lack thereof, of your Inbox?

Posted by cw at April 17, 2007 02:42 PM

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Posted by: Stephen at April 18, 2007 12:38 AM

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