Email message threads — an excellent form of communication when working off a laptop or desktop computer but excruciatingly painful when attempting to keep up with an email conversation on a phone.
The phone-based emails hide attachments and cause recipients to easily get lost in the clutter that forms as the messages stack on top of each other.
Fortunately, we can change the email setting to organize by threading or turn that feature off.
If you’ve experienced confusion over responses (or seemingly non-responses) from someone through email, then be sure to change the threading feature to what you prefer.
Adjusting for screen size
Accessing your email from a laptop or desktop computer on occasion also helps clarify how the messages are intended to look.
Small mobile devices don’t have as much surface real estate, so they are forced to adapt and realign the various digital platforms showcased on their screens.
For instance, when you pull up a website on your phone, the layout of the site looks different than when you pull that same site up on a computer monitor.
Experiment by looking at thealabamabaptist.org or thebaptistpaper.org on your phone and a laptop side by side.
Technology frustrations
What are other technology frustrations you’ve experienced lately?
Maybe streaming services on your TV stalling in the middle of a show or constantly using the “forgot password” feature on various accounts?
Maybe its spending way too much energy attempting to determine which emails are legitimate and which ones aren’t.
As helpful as the world of technology continues to be in so many areas of life, it also creates its own form of exhaustion, complications and distractions.
And beyond simply aggravating us because a particular device, platform or resource doesn’t live up to our expectations, an untamed digital world can be harmful to our health.
Surgeon general warning
In fact, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek H. Murthy shared in an opinion piece in the New York Times recently, that “The mental health crisis among young people is an emergency — and social media has emerged as an important contributor.
“Adolescents who spend more than three hours a day on social media face double the risk of anxiety and depression symptoms, and the average daily use in this age group, as of the summer of 2023, was 4.8 hours.
“Additionally, nearly half of adolescents say social media makes them feel worse about their bodies.”
Murthy also reported in a 2023 advisory, which can be found online at hhs.gov, that “limits on the use of social media have resulted in mental health benefits for young adults and adults.”
With the brain development of children and adolescents being more vulnerable than adults, the assumption is that time limits are not only important, but vital.
In fact, everyone putting boundaries on screen time, especially as it relates to social media, should only improve our health in some form on another.
Was it Shakespeare who first used the phrase “too much of a good thing”?
Did we as a culture dive so deep into technology, social media and other digital offerings that we’ve found ourselves with too much of a good thing?
What can we do?
What needs to happen to swing the pendulum back a bit?
How does your family keep fresh air, eye contact and activities that don’t require scrolling from becoming extinct in your daily lives?
What ideas could you share with others?
How can churches make a difference in this area?
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